


Stardew

by iridescentAI



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, References to Depression, Slow Burn, Suicidal Thoughts, because that's pretty much Shane until you get to his six heart event, shane swears a lot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:35:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 36,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26222755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iridescentAI/pseuds/iridescentAI
Summary: Marnie justadoresher, sends her extra hay every week for “being a good neighbor” or whatever. Jas is still a little wary- she’s never been good with strangers- but she shows the new farmer all of her dolls nonetheless.Shane didn't get it.The new farmer was just weird. That was what he thought.
Relationships: Shane/Female Player (Stardew Valley)
Comments: 69
Kudos: 173





	1. Year 1, Spring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Player is named "Lee" but is mostly referred to as "farmer girl" courtesy of Shane. 
> 
> This fic has been sitting in my drafts for a while. I figured now was a good time to post it as ever...?

When the new farmer moved in, it threw everyone into a tizzy.

But not Shane. 

As shitty as his life was, it was already in order. Wake up, head to Joja Mart, work 8am to 6pm, then head to the saloon to drown his sorrows in booze until closing time. Walk home, tumble into bed, rinse, repeat. 

The more he drowned himself in work and booze, the less he had to think about how horribly he was failing his best friends by letting Jas see him at his worst, and the less he had to think about how pointless his shitty life was. 

And you know what? It wasn’t healthy by a long shot, but Shane was just fine with that. He had no other option.

And then that fucking farmer moved in. 

He’d met her, told her to fuck off and leave him alone, and he’d thought that’d be the end of it. 

\---

Except it wasn't. 

She caught him every morning on the way to work, said hello as she passed by on her way to Pierre’s, and stopped by his post by the fireplace in the saloon every night. 

Shane tried his _damndest_ to get across to her how _uninterested_ he was in making small talk, much less making friends, but she kept up her hellos and goodnights as if he hadn’t said a word. 

\---

The Egg Festival came and went- a light in his life at the end of a year-long tunnel, an event solely focused around the two things he still lived for (chickens and Jas). He suspected that this new farmer was pretty shocked by the smile on his face during the festival, and he later wondered if that was what made her come back for more.

Because she did. 

It was… it was as if she sought him out. _Him_ , of all people.

She stopped in on the weekends, knocked on his door and peeked in through the crack to make sure it was alright to enter his room, even after he’d grunted out an affirmative. She always said hi to Jas and Marnie- and he _swore_ she brought an egg to Marnie every goddamn day. 

Marnie just _adores_ her, sends her extra hay every week for “being a good neighbor” or whatever. Jas is still a little wary- she’s never been good with strangers- but she shows the new farmer all of her dolls nonetheless. 

Shane didn't get it. 

The new farmer was just _weird_. That was what he thought. 

She didn’t talk much, disappeared for hours on end to who knows where, and seemed to be keeping a running list of everyone in the town’s favorite things.

Shane only knew this because one day he’d mentioned offhandedly that Marnie loved pumpkin pie, and Miss Farmer had whipped a notepad out of her back pocket before he could even finish his sentence.

She’s weird. 

She’s weird, and he kept telling himself that in the hopes that it would keep him far away from her for the foreseeable future. He had his shitty job and his shitty responsibilities and his shitty life to deal with already. Plus, getting to know someone new would just drive a wedge in all the protective walls he’d built up since Jas’ parents died, and… he just wasn't ready for that yet. 

\---

And then he found himself on Cindersap pier, sharing a beer with her. 

He’d been planning to drink himself into oblivion, and she just kinda snuck up on him. So he offered her one, so what?

And _damn_ , did she chug that thing right down.

And damn if it didn’t impress him a little bit. 

“A woman after my own heart,” he found himself saying, the words spilling out of him with a low chuckle as if they’re the easiest thing in the world. 

She barely said anything in return, as usual, and- getting progressively more drunk as the hours passed by- Shane found himself rambling on about life and how pointless and shitty it was. 

He remembered saying something about how there was hope yet for her future. He remembered her smiling before she left to head home.

He remembered considering drowning himself in the lake. 

He woke up in his bed the next morning with a nasty hangover. 

\---

His birthday came and went- but not before farmer girl presented him with a bundle of freshly picked hot peppers, straight from the fields. Truly, he was pleased by the present. He tried not to let it show on his face when he thanked her.

\---

The Flower Dance also came and went. 

The new girl asked Shane to dance with her. 

He declined.

He also noticed that she asked every other available partner to dance.

Everyone turned her down.

It wasn’t that no one liked her- she was friends with most everyone in attendance- but most people had their eye on someone else for the dance. Sebastian hovered at Abigail’s side, as usual, Elliot and Leah kept to themselves discussing who knows what, as usual, Harvey stared pathetically after Maru while she laughed and chatted with the adults of the town, as usual, Alex and Haley were having some inane conversation, as usual, and Sam kept purposefully making Penny laugh, as usual. 

As the Flower Dance started, Shane wondered if maybe he should have said yes to her. She looked awfully lonely, standing on the outskirts of the clearing while everyone danced and laughed and sang.

_Whatever._ It wasn't his job to babysit the new girl. She should’ve known that everyone already had their sights set on someone else. 

Her exclusion from the event didn’t stop her from trying all the harder to make friends with everyone in the town. 

\---

One week, Shane overheard a conversation between farmer girl and Marnie that merely solidified his theory that she was just _weird_. While Marnie made her usual speech about the tower in the back corner of the woods and the odd sounds that pour out of it at night sometimes, farmer girl merely nodded, unconcerned. 

“You mean the wizard’s tower?” Farmer girl clarified, cocking her head to the side. “He’s a little full of himself, but he’s harmless. Nice guy.” 

Weird. _Weird._


	2. Year 1, Summer

Spring ended, allowing summer to rush in with hot sun and thunderstorms. 

The chickens didn’t mind the heat, but they certainly did mind the thunderstorms.

Shane didn’t like the heat, either- especially since he didn't look good in a bathing suit. 

So all he had to keep him sane all summer was his Joja uniform- his hot as hell Joja uniform (thank god Joja Mart was air-conditioned)- and the refreshing taste of cold beer.

\---

Looking back on it, Shane should’ve known that he, of all people, could never hope to achieve “sane”. 

He cracked just after the luau. 

It wasn’t _because_ of the luau, he didn’t think, but it certainly had something to do with the monotony of his life and the storm clouds darkening his thoughts. 

\---

It was raining outside when he stacked two twelve-packs of beer next to his game console and drank until he couldn’t see straight.

He woke up to a cold bucket of water poured over his head.

Courtesy of that _fucking farmer_. 

Of course she’s there while Marnie bemoans his lifestyle, of course she’s there while Marnie demands to know what exactly Shane plans to _do_ with his life, and of _course_ she’s there when Jas gasps- giving away her hiding spot behind the door- and runs off. 

Of course she’s there to see him feel like shit. She scuttled out the door not long after she caught sight of the look on his face.

Once she left, Shane headed out to find Jas- dodging Marnie’s disappointed mutterings as they followed him out the door. 

He found Jas under the big-ass tree she and Vincent liked to play underneath, curled up in a ball among its roots. Shane sat next to her without a word, hoping his presence would be apology enough for the moment. 

“I don’t want you to go anywhere, Uncle Shane,” Jas told him, in the tiniest voice he’d ever heard. 

“I know, Jas,” was all he could manage to reply with.

\---

He found himself ruminating on that night a lot. 

A _lot_.

He knew he should stop thinking about it, because it was gone and passed, too late to fix, but… he couldn’t stop. He couldn't stop _thinking._

Depression weighed so heavily on him nowadays, monotony so common to his shitty lifestyle, that all he wanted to do was drink until he never woke up again. But he couldn’t- could he? Not with Jas depending on him, not after he’d promised her parents- his _best friends-_ that he’d take care of her. What kind of piece of shit was he, wishing to die and leave his best friend’s kid all alone?

Well, Jas had Marnie. At least there was that.

And Marnie took care of the chickens, so they’d be fine too. 

No one would really _miss_ him, would they? He wasn’t friends with anyone in the town, and he didn’t care to be. Marnie would surely be glad to have her parasite of a nephew out of her house, and Jas wouldn’t have a disappointment of a godfather anymore. 

Maybe he should… maybe he _should_.

He set up his next stack of twelve-packs by the cliffs in the forest. If he fell off in a drunken stupor, he thought to himself, then he fell off. Simple as that. 

After finishing the first twelve-pack, things got blurry. 

Somewhere in the middle of the second pack, farmer girl found him passed out, face first in the dirt. 

At least it wasn’t raining, this time.

He’s pretty sure they talked. He’s not _certain,_ though. 

All he knew was that he woke up in Harvey’s clinic with an IV in his arm and what had to be the worst hangover of his _life_.

“You’re lucky to be alive,” Harvey informed him as he took Shane’s vitals. “If Farmer Lee hadn’t brought you in when she did last night, you could’ve died of alcohol poisoning.” 

“I wish I had.” Shane mumbled- mostly to himself, but Harvey heard it anyways. 

“Yeah, about that…” Harvey went on to tell Shane about the specialist he knew in Zuzu city, about how therapy would probably do _wonders_ for his mental health, about how, if he didn’t particularly _like_ wanting to die all the time, that this was the way to fix it. 

For once in his life, Shane thought he could see a light at the end of the tunnel. (A light that _wasn’t_ the Egg Festival.) Something good. Something that would make him _better_.

“By the way,” Harvey added, just before Shane hopped off the hospital bed, “You should go thank Farmer Lee. You owe her your life.” 

Shane supposed he did. 

\---

So he caught her just as she stepped out of her house for her morning rounds. He told her he was definitely headed to counseling and apologized for whatever he might’ve said the night before on the cliffs. 

Farmer girl just smiled- something small and warm, merely a quirk of the lips- and said, “I’m just happy you’re still here.” 

Somehow, that sentence lodged itself in Shane’s shitty heart and stuck there. 

She invited him along for her morning rounds, but he had work to get to (regardless of his splitting headache) and had to head out. 

But he never stopped thinking about what she said. 

_I’m just happy you’re still here._

_\---_

The Dance of the Moonlight Jellies came and went.

That night was also a night Shane looked forward to every year. Jas had loved the jellies for as long as she’d been alive- one of her first words had been “fairies!” when she’d first seen them on the beach- and Shane would do _anything_ for Jas, so there he stood, alone on the piers while she ran around with Vincent. 

Of course, farmer girl found him. They had a short conversation about nature and the wonders of science before she went on her merry way, meandering about and chatting with the rest of the townsfolk until it was time to send off the candle boat. 

And if Shane snuck a glance or two at her while she oohed and aahed over the glowing jellyfish swarming into their shores, who would be any the wiser? 

If Shane happened to admire the way the light washed over her face, glowing softly in the summer moonlight, then that was for him to know.


	3. Year 1, Fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized today that hot peppers are a summer crop, not a spring crop, and there's no way farmer could have gifted Shane peppers in year 1 spring, but you know what? We're not going to talk about it. 
> 
> (I'm just spoiled with my year-round hot peppers from my greenhouse, smh.)

Summer ended, and fall brought leaves falling off of trees and mushrooms. So many mushrooms. 

Sometimes when he left for work in the morning, he caught sight of farmer girl in the brush nearby, filling her arms with blackberries and mushrooms. 

Weird. 

But she brought Jas a blackberry cobbler later that week, and Shane couldn’t find it in him to be bothered by it. 

\---

The Stardew Valley Fair was a chance for all the vendors in Stardew to show off their wares to outsiders who could become new neighbors, and a chance for everyone to let loose and have fun on all the games and activities that come to town for the occasion. Marnie always stressed herself to the point of pulling out her hair over her grange display, but Shane was content to manage the petting zoo he got to keep an eye on every year.

Every year, he told Jas not to stick her fingers in the chicken’s faces, and every year Jas ignored him and got pecked. Every. Year. 

Every year, Marnie had the biggest cheese wheel anyone had ever laid eyes on. 

Farmer girl cannot claim to have seen a larger cheese wheel- and she told Shane this when she visited the petting zoo. She also invited him to check out her grange display before judging started.

For a moment, he considered declining. 

Then, _I’m just happy you’re still here_ rings in his ears. 

“Sure,” he relented, and he let her lead the way. 

Her display ended up shoved between Pierre and Marnie’s- and for a moment, Shane pitied her situation, being stuck between the town’s two biggest competitors for first place, but he didn’t pity her for long. 

“You make _mead_ on your farm?” He couldn’t help but exclaim, surprised. She nodded, as if that wasn’t a weird thing at all. “And where the fuck did you find a _diamond?_ ” He wondered aloud, admiring the rainbow sheen of the clear crystal nestled in her display block. 

“Shane, _language,_ ” he heard Marnie hiss from where she stood at the next display box over. Shane ignored her. 

“The mines.” Farmer girl explained. 

“There are monsters in there,” Shane reminded her, wide-eyed, “Like, legitimate, could definitely kill you, _monsters_.” 

Farmer girl had the audacity to laugh. “Don’t I know it,” she muttered wryly, eyeing the diamond ruefully. 

Not for the first time, Shane has the thought that maybe, just _maybe_ , there’s more to this farmer than meets the eye. 

Regardless of her impressive display, farmer girl wins second place.

“Next year,” she assured Shane, completely serious- even with the funny looking scarecrow that she’d bought with her Star Tokens nestled in her arms.

\---

When Marnie’s birthday rolls around, farmer girl showed up with a pumpkin pie. 

“How’d you know this is my favorite thing?” Marnie cried, gushing over the delicacy presented to her. 

Farmer girl caught Shane’s eye before he’d left for work and _winked_.

“Oh, a little birdie told me.” 

\---

Just before Spirit’s Eve marked a couple months of Shane going to therapy. 

He wondered, seriously wondered, why no one had suggested this to him before. 

His therapist didn’t judge him for the way he handled things, didn’t pity him when he’d told them about Jas’s parents dying, and helped him put his fucking head on straight. 

_You’ve got people that are willing to help you when you’re in a tough spot. Why won’t you depend on them?_

_You_ know _drinking all this alcohol isn’t good for you. If you really do wanna stop, then let’s talk steps to take to get there._

His therapist got him to a psychiatrist, and the psychiatrist got him medicated.

They’d told him it might take a couple weeks for the meds to kick in, but he’d woken up day _one_ with more pep in his step- he couldn’t _wait_ to see what a week would bring. (And when in his miserable life had he _ever_ anticipated the future??)

On top of his personal reasons for wanting to cut back on drinking, he’d already gotten the warning from his psychiatrist that alcohol and his meds would _not_ mix well, so drinking at the saloon every night was a no go. He had to choose between a bad habit he’d always meant to kick and a pill that made his brain actually work- and the decision wasn’t very hard.

As it turned out, cutting back on drinking saved a _lot_ of money. 

So much so that he had enough extra cash to stop by a cute little shop in the city before heading home for the day, a box tucked under his arm and his heart lighter than it had been in _years_. 

“What’s in the box?” 

Nearly home, Shane turned to see farmer girl elbow deep in a blackberry bush. 

“Shoes. For Jas.” He explained. “Turns out, alcohol is fucking expensive, and when you cut that out of your daily life, suddenly you have cash to spend.” 

Farmer girl snorted, amused by his statement. “Indeed.” 

He had already turned to head inside and present Jas with her present when farmer girl spoke up again.

“Does that mean I can’t invite you over to share some farm fresh blackberry wine?”

Stunned, Shane stopped in his tracks. 

_She- was she- to him? Him?_

“You mean forest fresh,” he shot back as soon as he found his voice. 

When she laughed, the most inexplicable thing happened. His chest warmed, like someone had lit a fire within him. 

_Huh. Interesting._

“And I’ll never turn down a nice bottle of wine,” Shane assured her, flipping her a thumbs-up, “It’s the twelve-packs of beer I’m trying to stay away from.” 

“Good plan,” she agreed, returning his thumbs up before diving back into the blackberry bush before her. “See you tomorrow night at Spirit’s Eve!” 

Oh and he certainly does see her. 

\---

She showed up just after the food had been served, sporting a large black witch’s hat, a cute little black dress, and a broom to finish off the costume. 

Shane had only ever seen her in t-shirts and muddy jeans, so this was… a nice change of pace. 

He couldn’t say he didn’t like the look on her. Actually, judging by the return of the heat in his chest (and potentially in his cheeks), he could genuinely say he _enjoyed_ it. 

It became clear _very_ quickly that he wasn’t the only one enamored with her outfit. 

Jas, for one, made sure to state how pretty she looked- which, surprisingly, brought a bit of color to the farmer’s cheeks. 

Shane caught Sam sneaking appreciative glances when he thought no one was looking. Abigail too. Though, Abigail was a bit more bold about it. Abigail was a bit more bold about _everything_.

Unfortunately, farmer girl disappeared into the maze before Shane got a chance to even insinuate towards liking her appearance that night, and she must have disappeared into the night just before the event ended, because Shane didn’t see her until the next morning.

\---

That next morning, everything was back to normal. T-shirt, jeans, and a hello for him as he headed out for work. 

For some reason, he felt the oddest compulsion to stop and have a conversation with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually not just being optimistic about day one of meds flipping a switch in Shane's brain- it's what happened to me. When I started anxiety/depression meds for the first time, suddenly, I wasn't worrying myself to the point of _crying_ every night, so that was cool.


	4. Year 1, Winter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY so i move back on campus Monday, so things are gonna be a little slow inthe meantime while I pack and move and whatever. But once I get there, things should pick up a lot!!

Fall ended, and winter brushed all the dead leaves off of the trees and covered the ground with snow. 

Shane didn’t mind winter. The chickens got a little chilly amidst the cold snaps, but that’s what heaters were for. Plus, he hid better under layers and layers of clothing. 

\---

One morning, bundled up to his neck on his way to work, Shane ran into farmer girl, as usual, and noticed something different about her attire. 

“Is that a sword?” He called after her. 

She stopped in her tracks, boots ceasing to crunch in the snow, and turned to face him with a sheepish smile pulling at her lips. “Yes.” 

“ _Why?_ ” Shane couldn’t help but wonder aloud. 

“It’s winter.” She stated, as if that should explain everything. She must’ve noticed no change in the confusion on his face, so she started up explaining again with a sigh. “I can’t grow anything in the winter, so I have no crops to tend. I just spend my free time in the mines.” 

“This again with the mines,” Shane huffed, his breath puffing out in a little cloud in front of him. He crunched his way through the snow until he stood beside her and motioned for her to walk with him. Joja Mart was on the way to the mines in the mountains anyways. 

As they walked, Shane listened to farmer girl talk like he’d never had the chance to before. They’d only held passing conversations, save for the times she’d found him with a beer in hand in the woods. This was new and… refreshing. 

“The first time I went in, I had the shittiest sword and no idea how to use it. When I got swarmed by cave flies, it was a wrap.” She recounted, completely unpressed about how _dangerous_ of a situation she’d been in- apparently multiple times, for her to be so blase about it. “Thank god Linus found me, or else I’d probably be slime food.”

Shane could only listen and marvel over her tales of digging and fighting in the mines, of her stories of bats and slimes and crabs and skeletons and _more_. 

“I’m still searching for the bottom of the mines- I haven’t found it yet, but I think I’m close.” She declared, nodding firmly, sure of herself. 

“How do you know?” Shane queried. 

“Well, I found this on the ninetieth level,” she informed him- and promptly unsheathed the sword she carried on her back. 

The blade was pitch black and so shiny that Shane could see his reflection in it. 

“It’s a pretty damn good sword. So I think I’m getting close to the end.” She admitted. 

“Hmm.” Shane mused, equally as intrigued. “Well, don’t die in there.” 

“Of course not!” She crowed, grinning at him, “We haven’t had our wine date yet!” 

They parted ways on that note, and the word _date_ echoed in Shane’s head through the entirety of his shift. 

\---

The Festival of Ice was always held right outside Marnie’s ranch. There was no way he could miss it. 

There was also no way he could miss the absolute fishing _fiend_ that was farmer girl, casting and reeling in a frenzy- a madwoman with a fishing pole. 

She even beat _Willy_ , for heaven’s sake. Shane wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes. 

Elliott congratulated her on her win (congratulated her on absolutely _thrashing_ him), and Shane didn’t like the easy way the writer smiled around her. He _especially_ didn’t like the easy way she smiled back. 

But Shane didn’t know how to fish, so he had no reason to participate, much less comment on her win. All he could do was stand off to the side, half-hidden behind Jas’s snowman, watching.

Her boots crunched in the snow when she left to go home after all the festivities. 

Shane wondered if she’d crack open a bottle of wine in celebration of her win. 

\---

The next time he saw her- aside from their morning hellos- she was handing Sebastian a birthday gift. 

“It’s- this is a frozen tear!” Sebastian exclaimed, loud enough for Shane to hear where he stood a couple rows over in Pierre’s shop. “How did you get this?”

Shane knows how. He’d run into her on the way back from the mines late at night, poured over her pocketfuls of shiny, lustrous gemstones with her, told her which ones he thought were the prettiest, and listened closely to her opinions in return. 

“Oh, you know,” she laughed, as if it should be obvious. (It was, to Shane.)

Sebastian seemed at a loss for words for a moment, but as soon as he recovered he was thanking her over and over for the precious gift. 

For the tiniest moment, Shane toyed with the idea of braving the mines _just_ to find a stone for himself, something _he_ could give as a gift to someone he cared about. 

Then, he looked down at his soft tummy and definitely not strong arms and discarded the idea as soon as it formed.

\---

It was the first day of the Night Market coming to town when Shane finally got around to repainting their “Fresh Eggs” sign. He’d been too busy with work and taking care of the chickens to do much else, so finally sitting down to finish the job was a relief. 

Just as he’d put the last stroke of red on the sign, the door to the coop swung open, admitting Jas and- wouldn’t you know it- farmer girl. Jas had farmer girl by the wrist, and she stood proudly amongst the bright blue chickens while farmer girl gaped and marveled over their prized fowl. 

Shane took a moment to explain that he’d been showing Jas the ropes recently, passing on his knowledge to her- not in case anything should happen to him, god forbid, but in case he should ever move out of Marnie’s ranch. 

Farmer girl seemed… proud of him. 

They talked about chickens for a while before Jas dragged farmer girl off once again, leaving Shane alone in his trusty chicken Charlie’s company once again.

He’d never admit out loud that he’d begun to consider life on her farm as the alternative to Marnie’s ranch. Why else would he move out of Marnie’s ranch?

\---

It was at the Feast of the Winter Star that Shane really realized he was in deep. 

He’d received his Secret Santa designation in the mail, as everyone did, and opened it to find none other than “Farmer Lee” scrawled across the page in Mayor Lewis’s bad handwriting.

(For a minute he wondered if Mayor Lewis had seen right through him and given him farmer girl on purpose, but the panic dissipated as soon as he remembered that Secret Santas were determined by pulling names out of a hat.)

After he’d come down from that near freakout, he reached another realization.

_What the fuck does farmer girl even like??_

He knew she liked the way gemstones sparkled in the light, but he had no way of getting his hands on those without potentially _dying_ before making it to the feast at all. 

He also knew she really loved her wooly rabbit, but what was he going to do with that knowledge- give her another farm animal to provide and care for as a gift? No, he didn’t think that was the best idea. 

The idea came to him after days of wracking his brain for answers, and it came thanks to an old memory of her complaining about the trade-off between buying lots of seeds to make a profit off of when harvest came around versus the absolutely draining, time-consuming task that was watering every single thing she’d planted every day. 

Yeah… he could work with that. He could do it. No problem.

\---

When Shane saw farmer girl hand her gift over to Evelyn at the Feast of the Winter Star, he knew he would have to step up and hand over his present as well, no matter how dumb he thought the contents were.

He warned her too, before she opened it- and she had the cutest surprised face, her mouth stuck in a little “o” while he handed her the box. 

As she pulled out three quality sprinklers from the box, Shane couldn’t watch. He kept his eyes on the ground, nervously scratching the back of his neck while he waited for her judgment. 

“I just remember you complaining about how difficult it was to water everything every day, so I figured if I could make your job any easier, then- _oof-”_

She interrupted his terrified justifications by throwing her arms around his neck, engulfing him in a hug right there in the middle of town square. 

“Oh, god, thank you _so much_ ,” she sighed, clearly _elated_ with his choice of gift. “I seriously can’t wait to set these up, you don’t under _stand_ , Shane, _thank you_ ,” she rambled, squeezing him for a moment to emphasize her point. 

Despite the cold chill in the air, Shane found himself quite warm in that moment. Bundled in as many layers as he was, he shouldn’t have been able to feel the heat of her body, but he _swore_ he could feel her burning through his mittens when he lifted his arms to hug her back. 

God, had she always been so _strong?_ Her arms were steady around him, and what he could feel just hugging her was completely solid muscle through and through. He supposed that made sense, considering the work she did for a living and in her free time.

He _really_ didn’t want her to let go, but all good things had to come to an end. The 100-watt smile she gave him when she stepped back _almost_ made up for the loss of her against his chest. 

When Emily, Shane’s designated Secret Santa, handed him a gift later, she made sure to add, “It might not be as good as the gift you already got from Lee, though,” _and winked_ before she rejoined the festivities. 

So the Feast of the Winter Star went… well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLAYER IS RIPPED AND YOU CAN'T TELL ME OTHERWISE


	5. Year 2, Spring (part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had a lot to say for this Spring, so get ready for a two-parter :)

And winter ended, bringing back spring flowers and salmonberries. (And Vincent’s dad, Kent.) 

Except, now, things were different. Now, Shane looked forward to getting up every morning. He looked forward to getting home from work, looked forward to weekends, and- most of all- looked forward to seeing farmer girl. 

He thought about her nearly every day, now. He thought about gifts to find her, about stories to tell her, he daydreamed about living on that farm with her- he even imagined holding her in his arms again. 

Marnie noticed his infatuation, but she didn’t have any grounds to tease him on, considering she thought she was slick about her “secret” relationship with Mayor Lewis (ew). Anytime she tried to tease him about daydreaming, or watching Lee leave with a dopey grin on his face, all he’d have to do was insinuate towards her “secret fling” to shut her mouth quick. 

\---

When the Egg Festival came around that year, he nearly forgot about it. The festival was usually the light at the end of his tunnel, but… he didn’t have tunnel vision anymore. 

This year, he noticed that Lee participated in the egg hunt. He hadn’t noticed that last year (probably because Abigail won, like she always does). 

This year, Lee won the egg hunt. Mayor Lewis presented her with her prize- a big ol’ straw hat that tilted to one side when she caught Shane’s eye and grinned over at him. 

After the egg hunt, Lee gravitated over to the booth Harvey was running, and Shane watched her peruse through the festival goodies with the cutest purse to her lips. 

(He thinks Harvey noticed him watching, and he thinks Harvey frowned at him, but Harvey could go fuck himself if he was upset about Shane paying attention to Lee.)

“I think lawn flamingos are tacky, don’t you?” Lee mused aloud- talking to either Shane or Harvey, he couldn’t be sure.  
  


“Huh?” The comment startled Shane out of his daze. “Oh, yeah, I guess.” 

Lee merely smiled and shook her head to herself before going back to browsing. Shane watched her hover over the image of a bunny plushie, but when she lifted her head to speak to Harvey, she ordered 10 bags of strawberry seeds instead. 

After tucking her seeds away in her bag, she bade both Harvey and Shane goodbye and headed back in the direction of her farm. Distantly, Shane watched her leave, his mind spinning with a new plan. 

“Hey, Harvey?” Shane spoke up- startling the meek doctor. “How much is that bunny?” 

\---

The next morning, Shane found himself on Lee’s doorstep. 

He’d been here before, but under much different circumstances. 

Plus, last time he was here, he had not been holding a giant plush bunny in his arms. 

He almost dropped the unwieldy thing three times just trying to knock on her front door- but he managed, somehow, and his heart sped up as soon as he heard footsteps approaching from inside.

When the farmhouse door swung open, Shane couldn’t help but hide behind the bulk of the plushie in his arms, embarrassed to even be here in the first place with such an offering. 

“Uh,” Lee hesitated, obviously uncertain as to who it was that was visiting her so early in the morning. “Hello, Mr. Bunny…?”

Shane had no choice but to peek around pink fuzz with a sheepish grin- and farmer girl’s eyes widened as soon as she caught sight of his face. 

“Shane!” She exclaimed. “Oh, god, that was embarrassing,” she immediately mumbled, pressing her hands to her face (to hide what Shane is _almost certain_ is the pink stain of a blush across her cheeks). “Is there any particular reason you’re masquerading as a bunny plushie on this fine morning?” She finally asked the big question, one eyebrow creeping up over inquisitive eyes.

“It’s for you,” Shane cut right to the chase, straightening his arms out to extend the bunny in her direction. “I saw you looking at it at the Egg Festival, but you didn’t buy it. I hope you… I hope you still want it, after all.”

When he looked back up from the ground, farmer girl was smiling so wide, he was sure her face would crack from the force of it. 

“Come in,” she offered, stepping aside. “Help me figure out where to put it.” 

So Shane entered. 

He didn’t see much of the house around the plushie in his arms, navigating completely on blind faith as he followed Lee’s footsteps. When he straightened after finally putting the bunny down, a glance around told him he had landed in farmer girl’s bedroom. 

It was a cozy place. There was a double bed against one wall, flanked by a dresser and a bedside table, the floors were all hardwood, the wallpaper was patterned to look like the night sky, and a tea table was tucked in the corner with a vase of sunflowers on top. 

“I think that’s a perfect place for him.” Farmer girl announced, patting the bunny’s head. “Thank you for getting him for me. It was very thoughtful of you to pick it up after I’d been eyeing it for so long.” She graced Shane with a smile as she looked back up at him, and for a moment, Shane forgot how to talk. 

Luckily, farmer girl breezed past his embarrassed silence with an offer he just couldn’t refuse. 

“Would you like to join me on my rounds today?” She offered, head tilted as she awaited his reply. “That is, if you don’t have work today.”

“Lucky you,” Shane found his voice in the nick of time, “I’ve got the day off today.” 

Surely, it was just the cozy atmosphere that made Shane feel so warm, not just the pleased smile she gave him in response. 

“Perfect. C’mon, I’ve gotta check the crops first.” 

\---

“The crops” end up being a wide-open space of tilled soil, dotted with greenery in varying stages of growth. Interspersed among the stalks and leaves were scarecrows and sprinklers- the latter of which seemed to have just shut off for the day. 

“This season, I held back on the green beans,” she informed Shane as she set to work scouring the beanpoles for any legumes ready to pick. “They keep growing all season, so I figured five poles was enough this year. Can you check and see if any potatoes are ready to harvest?”

Shane stared at the swath of soil laid out in front of him. “Ah… two questions.” 

“Shoot,” 

“Which ones are the potatoes, and how do I tell if they’re ready?” 

Lee looked up from the green beans, scrutinized the field, then looked back at Shane. “See the vines all tangled on the ground in the middle? Those are the potatoes. If the vines have completely shriveled, the potatoes are ready to pull up.” 

_Huh._

Shane gingerly picked his way through the fields, making sure he didn’t step on any other crops, and settled precariously in the middle of the row of tangled vines. 

_Shriveled, shriveled, shriveled…_

_Ah,_

“And you just… yank em up?” Shane called over to her, squatting beside the decidedly _shriveled_ potato vines. 

“Ah… Here.” Shane yelped as a spade made impact with the dirt next to his feet, surprised by the tool she’d thrown at him in response. “Stick that around the edges of the plant and lift. There should be about three or four of them attached to the roots underneath.” 

So Shane stuck and lifted. 

And, lo and behold, a wad of roots and potatoes came up in his spade.

“Now what?” Shane wondered, brushing off the excess dirt caked on the tubers. 

“Now pull them off and dump them in here!” Lee directed, picking her way across the soil with a dingy backpack in her arms. “This is my harvesting backpack. It’s seen better days, but with how much dirt ends up in here, I don’t plan on replacing it until the bottom of the bag wears out.” 

Shane made a mental note not to buy her a new harvesting backpack and dutifully dumped the armful of potatoes into said bag. 

“It looks like those are the only ones, so,” Lee hummed, eyeing the rest of the crops. “I think it’s time you met my chickens.”

\---

Farmer girl didn’t have to tell Shane how to help out in the chicken coop. He’d been around chickens for long enough, he knew how to search a nest for eggs, and he knew the eggs wouldn’t crack unless he dropped them on the ground. No need to be overly delicate with them. 

Shane got the honor of being personally introduced to each of her chickens- and he could tell, right away, that they had all been raised with love and care from day one. 

Now, Shane didn’t need to be told what to do in the chicken coop, but he was kind of at a loss as soon as they stepped into the barn. Sure, Marnie had cows, but he didn’t really interact with them much. And Marnie _certainly_ did not have goats.

“This is Ti,” Le introduced Shane to her only goat as she sat down beside it with a milk pail. “Ti will eat anything. Including me. I have to keep an eye on her when I put out fresh hay, because she’ll get impatient and start chewing at my clothing.” 

After making the rounds through the barn, Shane concluded that goats were really not his thing. 

\---

Once they left the confines of the fence she’d built around her barn and coop, Lee headed to three little ponds on the other side of her farm. 

“I’ve got Sturgeon, Super Cucumber, and Blobfish.” She informed him as she tossed each fish’s respective food into what must be fish ponds. “They all produce roe, but I can make caviar out of Sturgeon roe and sell it for a _damn_ good price. Sometimes I’ll find iridium ore in the Super Cucumber’s pond, and I found a pearl in the Blobfish pond once, but otherwise, it’s usually just the roe.” She explained, peering into the depths of each pond as she passed by. 

Farmer girl did not make him dip his hands in the ponds and scoop out slimy roe into little plastic containers- thank _god_. She did that herself, leaving Shane to enjoy the cool, spring breeze while she splashed about in each pond. 

“Alright, that should do it,” she announced as she stood up and dusted off her jeans. “We can head back to the house now.”

\---

After a trek back across her farm, Shane sat down at farmer girl's kitchen table with her- grateful to rest his legs after all that walking. Farmer girl let him talk about work and Jas and chickens while she scrubbed her potatoes clean, and he listened to her tell tales of her latest adventures in the mines while he helped clean the eggs they’d brought in. 

Sitting in her nice little kitchen, winding down after doing the rounds at her farm, talking about whatever came to mind- Shane couldn’t help but feel like this was where he _belonged,_ somehow.

Once they had put the finishing touches on that morning’s haul, farmer girl set aside the eggs- to be made into mayonnaise later, she’d said, since it sold for more- then packaged the potatoes and stacked her containers of roe beside them. To his ultimate curiosity, she also pulled a cake box out of her refrigerator and gingerly set it down beside her haul.

“I’ll set these in the dropbox for Lewis to pick up tonight,” she explained to Shane, pointing to the potatoes and the roe. 

“And… the cake?” Shane wondered, noting the pink frosting and heart candies sprinkled on top. 

“Oh,” a smile pulled at farmer girl’s lips while she tugged her backpack (not her dingy harvesting one) over her shoulders. “It’s Haley’s birthday today. I’m bringing this to her.” 

Shane nodded, blithely accepting her explanation without thinking too hard into it.

...Then he processed what exactly she had said. 

“Wha- Ha- _Haley’s_ \- you made _Haley_ a cake?” Shane squawked, absolutely taken aback. 

“Pink Cake is her favorite,” farmer girl explained, as if this was common knowledge, “And I just got the recipe for it, so I figured I should up my game for her birthday this year.” 

Shane still wasn’t computing. 

“ _Haley,_ ” He repeated, frowning at her, then the cake, “Haley, _I threw_ _out_ _all my clothes because they’re out of season_ , _ew you stink, I forgot your name,_ _Haley??_ ”

“Yep.” Farmer girl nodded as she picked up the cake with both hands. “Will you grab the potatoes and the roe for me?” 

Shane did just that and followed her out her front door. He also put the potatoes and the roe in the dropbox out front just like she’d said she’d been planning on doing. (To his surprise, he found that the box was refrigerated. It’d looked like a rickety old wooden box to him, but he supposed if it was supposed to hold fresh wares until Lewis picked them up, it would have to actually keep them _fresh_.)

\---

Instead of heading east, like he’d expected her to go to get to Haley and Emily’s house, farmer girl headed south on her farm, in the direction of Cindersap Forest. 

He realized as he caught up to her that she must be taking a different route in order to walk him home. His chest starts to burn at the thought, and he hoped his cheeks didn’t follow suit, for fear that he’d have to explain the blush. 

They walked in silence for a good distance, passing her coops and barns as they made their way to the southern exit of her farm, all the way up until farmer girl broke the silence with a long sigh. 

“I know Haley’s kind of…” she trailed off, unwilling to put words to whatever idea she actually had of the blonde, chewing on her lip and shifting the cake in her arms. “But when I moved here, I pretty much started my entire life over from scratch- so I’ve been trying really hard to become friends with everyone here.” She admitted. “Some people befriended me right off the bat, like Sam and Abigail. Some people needed to get to know me before opening up to me, like Old George and Linus. And some people…” 

She trailed off again, and Shane looked up from the ground to find her eyes fixed on him, something bright and hopeful glimmering in their depths. 

“I think Haley just understands the world differently than most of us do. We don’t have much in common, and that’s okay, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends.” She insisted, earnestly nodding as they stepped into the main clearing of Cindersap Forest. “If she sees that I honestly care about her, I don’t think our worldviews will matter much in the end.”

Considering his own approach to feelings and emotion, Shane felt pretty taken aback by farmer girl’s honest declaration of intent. 

It was a pretty optimistic outlook on things- not really his style- but he had to admit… hearing how earnestly dedicated she was to truly connecting with people made him fall just a little bit more in love with her. 

\---

She dropped him off at the front door to Marnie’s Ranch with a smile and a wave, but after taking a couple steps towards Haley’s house, she backtracked and called his name until he stopped closing the front door. 

“I almost forgot!” She cried out, eyes still wide in momentary panic, “Are you free this next weekend?” 

Shane’s heart nearly broke out of his ribcage, it slammed so hard against his chest in surprise, and his grip tightened on the doorknob as he steadied himself against the door. 

_Then_ , he remembered that _his_ birthday was next weekend. 

“Uh,” he floundered, trying really hard to remember if he’d made any plans or not. He ducked his head back inside for a moment, searching out Marnie where she sat behind the front desk in the foyer, and called her name until she looked up at him. “You aren’t planning to surprise me with anything this weekend, are you? Anything I should be home for?”

Marnie’s eyes narrowed, as if Shane was playing some sort of trick on her. Likely, she was also processing his inquiry and _why on earth_ he would ask that.

“No? Why?” Marnie finally answered, slow as could be.

Shane popped back outside with a triumphant thumbs-up. “No plans at all, why?” 

When he finally closed the door behind him and faced his expectant aunt awaiting an answer, Shane couldn’t help the pleased grin that pulled at his lips as he spoke.

“Farmer girl’s going to surprise me for my birthday.” He announced, trying not to look too smug. “She wanted to know if I had prior plans.” 

Marnie congratulated him- for what _exact_ reason, Shane wasn’t entirely sure- but she also made sure to roll her eyes and, with a click of her tongue, remind him, “Her name is _Lee_ , Shane. You could use it, once in a while.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today, we farm, and we talk about friendship. 
> 
> Player is an unstoppable being of mass-destruction and friendship. This chapter: friendship. More on mass-destruction next chapter.


	6. Year 2, Spring (part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GET READY!!

Workdays at Joja had never flown by quicker. His birthday appeared almost in a _snap_ , so anxious was he for the final reveal of whatever farmer girl had planned for him that day. 

When his birthday finally did roll around, christened by the cries of Marnie’s _many_ roosters, Shane almost slept through it. He’d been up all night, distracting himself from thinking too hard about what the next day could bring by playing video games late into the night. Well, more like early into the morning, if he was being honest with himself. 

He slept right through the roosters, but he nearly fell out of bed at Marnie’s call of his name from the front room. 

“ _Shane! Shane? Are you up?”_ Her voice traveled well enough through the kitchen and up to his room, and the man in question nearly choked upon seeing the time on the clock in his room.

Noon.

He’d slept until _noon_. 

Knowing farmer girl, she’d probably been up for _six hours_ already, doing who knows what to prepare for whatever in the world she had planned for him. Meanwhile, Shane was a fresh _thirty seconds_ out of bed, _completely_ unprepared for whatever life might throw at him that day. 

“ _Farmer Lee is here! Are you up, Shane?"_

Of course. _Of course._

“ _Yeah, Marn, I’m up,”_ Shane shouted back, frantically tossing off his sweatpants in favor of… damn, actually, how dressed up did he need to get?? When she’d made certain he was free today, he’d assumed they were _going_ somewhere, so… _where?_

“Shane?” Lee’s voice filtered in through his bedroom door, sounding slightly bemused by the two adults’ antics. “Can I come in?”

Freezing in place, Shane’s head whipped towards the mirror hung up on his wall, taking in the sight of himself. Standing there, shirtless, only in his underwear, his hair a rat’s nest, unshaven and still sporting dried drool on one cheek- oh no. No no no nononono.

“Hold on a sec,” Shane shot back, pausing the rattling of the doorknob. “Actually, now’s a great time to ask- how dressed up should I be?” 

“Oh,” farmer girl seemed surprised by the question, “Well, my surprise isn’t exactly _fancy_ , or anything. And we’re not going to be walking around. Unless you want to.” 

Cryptic. Typical farmer girl. 

\---

He ended up staring himself down in the mirror one last time before heading out- making sure his hair’s in place, straightening out his hoodie, and stuffing his pockets back into his jeans. 

When he stepped out of his room, farmer girl was waiting for him in the kitchen- being treated to what smelled like Marnie’s poppyseed muffins. 

“There you are,” Marnie fussed, planting her hands on her hips as soon as she caught sight of him. 

Shane ignored the comment, as he usually did, and jerked his chin towards the door. “Ready to go?” He asked farmer girl. 

She nodded, thanked Marnie for having her, shoved the rest of her muffin in her mouth, and stood up from the table without further ado. 

(He almost sighed aloud in relief as he discreetly checked over what she was wearing and found she was dressed comfortably as well. If he’d come out here to find her in a dress, or something, he’d have headed right back into his room to change.) 

Though, as soon as he stepped outside, he immediately regretted the sweatshirt. 

It was muggy and just hot enough to be uncomfortable- a storm must be headed in, a hunch he confirmed by noting the storm clouds rolling in overhead- and if he walked all the way to farmer girl’s house in jeans and a sweatshirt, he was going to arrive there _soaked through_ with sweat. 

_So, the sweatshirt’s coming off,_ he decided with an outward sigh. 

“It’s only gotten worse and worse outside today,” farmer girl admitted, probably having noticed him start to pull his sweatshirt off over his head. “I’m planning on keeping us indoors, so I didn’t think to tell you to nix the sweatshirt,” she concluded, sending him a sheepish smile.

“It’s alright,” he couldn’t help but assure her- too pleased by the sound of _us_ to be blaming her for stupid things like _not being able to control the weather_. 

“Here,” she offered, slinging her backpack off of one shoulder, “I’ll make up for it by carrying it.” 

Well, he couldn’t say no to that. And it fit so snugly within her backpack, he couldn’t even make excuses about it being too big for her bag. 

The spring breeze cooled him off considerably, and he figured he could make it to farmer girl’s house without looking too much of a wreck, at this point. 

Ah, but of course, he was wrong. 

At the halfway point between stepping foot on farmer girl’s property and stepping foot in her house, the skies opened up above them. 

Without a word, farmer girl broke into a sprint, hightailing it to safety under her own roof- leaving poor, out of shape Shane in the _dust_. 

Well, considering the rain, less dust, more _mud_. 

And maybe ten years ago, Shane could’ve caught up to her, but he was old and soft nowadays. His meager jog would have to do, regardless of the way his clothes soaked through in mere seconds. 

As he jogged, he felt irritation boiling low in his stomach- like, _damn_ , she really _left_ him out here- but he tried to squash it. She _was_ taking him out for his birthday after all. But no matter what he tried to convince himself, the little coils of disappointment remained, growing stronger the colder he got. 

Then, just as farmer girl’s house came into sight through the rain, the frown pulling at his lips dissipated. Because, there, hurrying through the rain with the biggest, brightest umbrella he’d ever seen, was farmer girl herself. 

“Thanks,” Shane muttered as she reached him, shielding him from the worst of the rain with her umbrella. 

“I ran as fast as I could,” farmer girl assured him- and he realized that she was panting, completely out of breath from what must have been a full-out sprint there and back.

Suddenly, Shane’s a little warm, something like contentment bubbling in his chest in place of the dredges of rejection he’d felt before. 

\---

When they reached her farmhouse, they both discarded their muddy shoes by the door, and farmer girl shook her rainbow umbrella off before setting it down against the wall. 

“ _Damn_ ,” farmer girl swore as she glanced over their sorry states. “This is _not_ how I wanted today to go.” She put in a valiant effort trying to comb her fingers through her hair, but it still hung limply around her face- tangled and waterlogged.

Shane supposed they both looked like drowned rats, after that escapade. 

“Try and warm up by the fire,” farmer girl offered, pointing to the hearth in the living room. “I’m gonna put some tea on the stove and find us some towels.” 

Shane mumbled another quiet _thank you_ , and headed towards the fire. Only after he sat down did he realize how thoughtful her advice was- he was _freezing_ from the cold spring rain. 

He figured she must be too, but she showed no signs of slowing down. She set a kettle on the stove, disappeared into her bedroom, emerged with four towels, threw two of them at Shane, bundled one around her head, draped another over her shoulders like a blanket, and hurried back to the kitchen as soon as the kettle started steaming. 

While he watched her bustle around, still warming himself by the fire, something warm and fuzzy bumped against his hand. 

When he turned to see what on _earth_ could be touching him, he found… 

“I didn’t know you had a cat,” Shane spoke up- finally warm enough to speak without his teeth chattering in between words. 

Farmer girl smiled as she poured hot water into two mugs. “Yep. Marnie found her wandering around here, right around the time I moved here. She took a liking to me, and I took a liking to her. We’re best friends now.” 

“Really,” Shane mused, watching the little gray ball of fluff sniff his fingers. “What’s her name?”

“Ah,” farmer girl hesitated, a faint flush coming to her cheeks as she stirred honey into the tea. “Funny story… So I named her Mittens, at first. But as she started exploring the farm and getting into trouble, the only way I could find her was following her cries for help- but the only sound she made was, like, half a meow. So I started calling her Mimi.” She explained. 

“Cute,” Shane couldn’t help but comment, both about the cat and it’s adventures and farmer girl’s naming mishaps. 

“Nowadays I call her Meem. Sometimes Meemer, occasionally Meemerino.” Farmer girl listed off, stacking the mugs onto a little serving tray and carrying them over to the fire. “She’s a small-rodent-hunting-machine, and she likes to sleep on my chest at night.”

“Double cute,” Shane nodded- and as Meem finally finished sniffing at his fingers, she ducked her head, offering it for him to pet. “Can I…?” 

“Of course!” Farmer girl exclaimed, grinning. She sat next to him by the fire and took a long sip of hot tea before adding, “She doesn’t bite or scratch or anything- but she might hit you if she’s had enough.” 

Shane couldn’t help but smile while he scratched behind Meem’s ears, watching the cat’s eyes close in contentment. “Feisty girl,” he mused, chuckling, “Just like her owner.” 

Farmer girl didn’t reply to that, but Shane thought her nonresponse had more to do with the towel she was vigorously using to rub her hair dry, not an aversive reaction to his comment. When she sat up straight again, Shane took a break from appeasing Meem to take a sip of tea himself. 

“How is it?” Farmer girl wondered, joining him for another sip. 

“I don’t really drink tea, but this is nice.” He admitted. “I don’t have much of a sweet tooth- as much as Jas wishes I did- but this isn’t too sweet. And it’s doing a good job of warming me up.”

Lee smiled, wide and pleased, and Shane figured he wouldn’t mention that the tea wasn’t the only thing making him feel warm inside. 

\---

After the fire took them from _soaked_ to _damp_ , their mugs had been drained of tea, and Meem had fallen asleep on the armchair near the fireplace, farmer girl saw fit to take up their mugs and wet towels and do away with them. 

“Y’know, it can’t be comfortable sitting in wet clothes,” she sighed as she returned to the living room. “I know _I’m_ uncomfortable.”

Shane didn’t say anything, just stared up at her where she stood. He couldn’t say that he _wasn’t_ uncomfortable- because he was, just a smidge- but saying he _was_ uncomfortable wouldn’t solve anything, and there wasn’t anything she could do about it, so there was no use.

Farmer girl stared off into space for a moment, thinking hard, then took off into her bedroom. The sounds of drawers opening and shutting reached his ears and roused Meem from her nap, and two pairs of curious gazes watched as farmer girl exited her room with an armful of clothes. 

“Here,” she announced, dropping the pile onto the couch across from the TV nearby. “Emily’s been teaching me how to sew, so I’ve been making my own clothes from the wool my sheep and rabbits produce,” 

“Woah, woah, woah, _hold on_ ,” Shane interrupted, “You _make_ your own _clothes?_ ” 

Farmer girl waved him off, a blush rising high in her cheeks. “Not important!” She hissed, embarrassed. “I made the mistake of not taking my measurements for the first few attempts, so I have a bunch of too big shirts and lounge pants and whatnot- I figured… something in here might fit you?” She offered, gesturing to the pile beside her. “Plus, whatever fits, you can keep. I can’t wear any of these anyways.”

Shane tried- he _tried_ , he tried _really hard_ to tell her it was _fine_ , he was _fine_ in wet clothing, and he _couldn’t_ take her clothing that she _made herself_ , no, it’s fine, it’s _fine_ \- but she _insisted_ (and ignored his arguments) until he finally caved and started sifting through the pile. 

“Give me a holler when you’re decent,” she reminded him as she disappeared into her room- probably to change as well. 

Shane ended up in a black shirt (that fit surprisingly well) and a pair of gray sweatpants (that fit fine around his waist but dragged on the floor when he walked). He hollered, just as she said he should, and Lee entered the living room in equally as comfy (and _dry_ ) clothing. 

She inspected him, eyes roving his figure from head to toe- so intently that Shane kinda felt like hiding- but ultimately nodded in satisfaction. 

“I could hem those for you, if you wanna keep them.” She offered, pointing to the material that pooled around his ankles. 

“Or I could grow a couple inches instead,” Shane muttered, frowning down at his toes where they peeked out from underneath the hem. “Always was just a little too short.”

“Hey, now,” farmer girl clicked her tongue, chastising him, “None of that. Let’s stay positive for your birthday, okay? We’re out of the rain, dry, warm, and the evening has only just begun.” 

Shane glanced at the clock hanging over her door and couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows in surprise at the hands that pointed to 3:00. _Time really flew by when he was with farmer girl._

“Here’s my _actual_ plan for tonight,” she began, crossing the living room to head towards the kitchen, where she’d set her bag down on the table. “We’re going to do a little cooking, pop open a nice bottle of wine, and watch a movie until it gets dark. Then I’ll let you go so you can head out to the Saloon, or whatever your plans are to celebrate.” 

“Sounds great,” Shane couldn’t help but agree- and he had to swallow down the protest at the tip of his tongue, the argument of _well, you see, I hadn’t really planned to do anything but hang out with you today, so…_

“Lovely,” farmer girl hummed as she unzipped her backpack, “I stopped by Pierre’s before I came to pick you up to grab some oil to cook with, and- oh!” She exclaimed, staring down into her bag. “I forgot I had this with me! My bag’s waterproof, so it’s still dry.” 

From her blue backpack, she pulled Shane’s sweatshirt- the one he’d discarded mid-walk in the hopes of avoiding disaster, only to run headfirst into it anyways. 

True to her word, the fabric was still dry when he took hold of it- but he noticed a much more pressing matter before he even took it out of her arms. 

“You’re shivering!” Shane yelped, eyeing the tremble in her arms as she held the sweatshirt out to him. “Nonono, forget me, _you_ take this. Warm yourself up a little before you do anything else.” He insisted, shoving the sweatshirt back at her. 

To his surprise, she didn’t protest at all- merely pinked in the cheeks a little before pulling the material over her head.

And as soon as the sweatshirt settled around her shoulders, Shane felt his face heating up a little too. With her bundled up in _his_ sweatshirt, pulling the material tighter around her frame and sinking into its warmth, Shane kinda felt like… like… 

“You up for some Pepper Poppers?” Lee queried, voice softer than he’d ever heard it. 

He had to reach for his voice- he’d left it somewhere else, discarded it while taking in the sight of her in _his_ sweatshirt, _his_ \- but after a hard swallow, he managed a nod.

“Yeah.”

\---

True to her word, they cooked Pepper Poppers (an easy recipe that turned into an ordeal when Shane put too much oil in the pot before frying the cheese stuffed peppers, sending hot oil flying _everywhere_ as the peppers _popped_ ), opened a bottle of wine (blackberry, just as she’d promised), and sat down in front of her TV for a movie (a suspenseful mystery, It Howls In The Rain).

“How’d you know this is my favorite movie?” Shane wondered- even though, deep down, he knew he shouldn’t be surprised at all. Meem jumped up on farmer girl’s lap, sniffed the plate of Pepper Poppers, and wrinkled her nose before turning away and curling into a little ball. 

Farmer girl merely stroked a hand down Meem’s back and took another sip of wine before humming a casual, “Oh, y’know,” as she always did. “I haven’t seen it yet, though, so don’t spoil anything.” 

Shane nodded and nodded and nodded, somewhere between stunned and exploding with joy. 

Really, what more could he ask for? Homemade Pepper Poppers, homemade wine, his favorite movie- _and_ he was practically trapped indoors (at least until the storm passed) with the current object of his affection? _Who was bundled up in his sweatshirt???_

He couldn’t have asked for a better birthday. 

Shane made a mental note to tell her that before he left for the night. 

He swore some higher power was listening in on him today. He’d thought for sure he’d make it to the farm unscathed and he _definitely_ didn’t, and he’d thought for _sure_ his birthday couldn’t get any better- but he was _wrong_. 

As it turned out, farmer girl did not handle jumpscares very well. 

The first one was minor, just a flash and a bang, but she jolted enough that Meem bolted from her lap- making farmer girl scare even harder, rocketing back against the couch as if something had shot her. 

“Hey, hey,” Shane spoke up over the movie, concern tearing his eyes away from the screen. “It’s just lightning. No worries.” 

“Sorry, sorry,” farmer girl murmured as she collected herself, settling back into the couch. “I’m just… nevermind, I’m fine.” She assured him, tossing him a confident smile. 

It was… convincing enough, so Shane turned his attention back to the screen. 

The next scare sent farmer girl’s hand up over her head, searching along her shoulders and spine for… for…

And, all at once, realization struck him. 

She was reaching for her _sword_. 

“Hey,” Shane called to her, reaching to press his hand to the base of her neck, letting her fingers brush against his knuckles as she sheepishly withdrew. “No monsters here. Promise.” 

Caught, Lee buried her face in her hands, hiding her expression from his prying eyes. “Sorry,” she mumbled, as if it were something she needed to apologize for. “Habit.” 

“S’okay,” Shane assured her, rubbing his thumb along the collar of his ( _his!!_ ) sweatshirt, soothing her like he soothed Jas when she got too worked up. “We can turn it off if it’s too much.” 

“No!” Lee exclaimed, dropping her hands in an instant. “I really wanna know what happens! And- and it’s your birthday, and all,” her gaze dropped to the floor embarrassed, as she tacked that last bit onto the end of her sentence. 

Shane raised an eyebrow in disbelief, and Lee stuck her lip out in a pout. 

“I’ll be fine.” She insisted, and collapsed back into the couch- pinning his arm behind her. “Just… lemme know when something’s coming up. So I don’t, like… stab you on your birthday, or something stupid like that.” She mumbled, looking over to him with big, pleading eyes.

_How was he supposed to say no to that??_

He _fought_ down a blush and nodded, promising her he’d give her a heads up for the next jumpscare.

True to his word, as the suspense ramped up, he warned her of the incoming surprise, and she-

And she-

She buried her face in his shoulder, weathering out the metaphorical storm right there in his arms. 

_Huh._

Instinctively, Shane felt his arm curl around her back, holding her to him as the source of the mysterious howling revealed itself on-screen in a flash of action and noise. 

When the moment passed, he tapped her, signaling her return to watching the movie, and she retreated with a sheepish smile and a whispered _thanks_. 

After the third jumpscare, farmer girl hadn’t pulled away after Shane gave the signal, leaving him with an armful of warm, solid farmer girl. Tipsy and unusually bold from the wine, he let his arm stay curled around her- even let his fingers stroke up and down her side while the movie played.

Three glasses of wine later (four, for Shane), the movie was winding down to an end- and so was the storm outside. Meem had curled up in Shane’s lap, and farmer girl stayed put on his shoulder, tucked into his arm. 

All was quiet as the credits rolled, and Shane wondered if farmer girl would _say_ anything about their situation- wondered if she’d apologize, if she’d laugh it off... or maybe she’d scoot closer, reach over to touch his cheek, and-

“I wasn’t expecting it to end like that,” was what she ended up saying, eyes still fixed on the screen long after it’d gone dark. 

Looking down at his arm where it laid across her back and curled around her hip, Shane felt he could say the same thing. 

“Are you… comfortable?” 

Her voice was so quiet, he wouldn’t have heard it if he hadn’t been laser-focused in on the situation at hand. 

“Very.” Shane whispered back, afraid he’d shatter the moment if he spoke any louder than she had. “Are you?”

In lieu of a response, Lee shifted closer, fully laying her head in the crook of his neck. Her arm wiggled between his back and the couch, settling around his waist- much like his was around hers- and her other hand reached out to stroke Meem before settling over his where it laid on her hip. 

Shane’s breath hitched in his chest- and he knew she heard it, because her fingers flinched on top of his, uncertain and unsure. 

“I’m really comfortable.” She finally admitted aloud, the tips of her fingers ever so gently grazing along the length of his. Going out on a limb, Shane spread his fingers, just a smidge, and- just as he’d hoped- her fingers slid in between the gaps he’d created, encasing his hand in her warmth. 

“I have one more present for you, tonight,” Lee announced, her voice back to a semi-regular noise level. “But I think you can guess what it is.” 

“I’m going to be completely honest with you,” Shane spoke up- almost choking around the way his heart was speeding in his throat, “I couldn’t even _try_ to make a guess at what it is.” 

This made farmer girl laugh, and she squeezed his hand before letting go completely. His heart sank in his chest when she pulled away from him, but it lifted momentarily when she whispered, “ _wait here, okay?”_

Shane hadn’t been lying when he’d said he couldn’t even begin to guess at her final present, but, as she stepped out of her bedroom with a lovely bouquet of flowers in hand, Shane figured he really _should’ve_ connected the dots for this one. 

“For real?” He breathed nonetheless, eyes darting between the bouquet and her face. “Me? Like- _really? Me?”_

Farmer girl laughed, a short, sweet tinkle of notes. “Yes, _you_. I like _you_ , and I wanna hang out like this more. Will you… do _you_ want to go out with me more?”

“ _Yes?!_ ” Shane blurted, unable to stop the incredulous answer from tumbling past his lips. “Are you _kidding me?_ ”

“Stop! Stop- you’re going to make me blush-” farmer girl waved him off, shaking the flowers in his direction. “Take them, already!!”

Meem glared at him when he brushed her off of his lap to stand, but Shane ignored the cat and took the bouquet into his own hands. He stared at the petals of each flower, carefully picked and presented- _all for him._

“Happy birthday, Shane.”

\---

He did _not_ head to the Saloon after he left Lee’s house- like she probably expected him to. No, he headed _directly_ home, the bouquet cradled in his arms like something precious (it was!!), and finds a vase for it _immediately_. 

Jas noticed the flowers first- and Shane was _almost_ sure she knew what they meant, but she didn’t comment on anything of the sort. She just said they were pretty and asked who gave them to him. 

As soon as she saw the bouquet, Marnie knew who it was from. 

“I’m excited for you, Shane,” she told him, ruffling his hair like she used to when he was a kid. “This is a big step!” 

The biggest step, Shane thought, was probably not going to be the act of dating farmer girl. The biggest step would probably be _accepting_ that farmer girl wanted to date _him_.

\---

It turned out to be a mistake to tell Jas who he got the flowers from. 

Jas told Penny, her teacher, and Penny told Sam. Sam told Abigail and Sebastian, and each of them spread it to their parents, who Shane overheard gossiping about it at the Saloon. 

He turned bright red and hid behind his mug as soon as he registered that Pierre and Gus were discussing farmer girl’s “choice in men.” 

\---

By the time the Flower Dance rolled around, _everyone_ knew. Even Marlon, the old guy that ran the Adventurer’s Guild (that consisted of a solid _three people_ , including farmer girl), tipped his head and winked at Shane as he passed by. 

Shane buried himself in chips and dip until Lee showed up. 

His heart did its best to try and pound its way out of his chest while she made her rounds, greeting everyone and smiling and nodding and- oh _god_ , here she comes-

“Hey, Shane,” she hailed him with a wave- then had the audacity to swipe a chip from his hands. “How’s the sauce?” 

“Green stuff’s spicy,” was all he could make himself mumble in response. And damn him, he can feel his face turning red just from speaking a couple words. 

She didn’t seem to mind how nervous he was, nor did she seem to care that he could barely muster up answers to her small talk. 

When the moment of truth finally arrived, Shane was ready. 

“Would you be my partner for the flower dance this year?” She finally asked, tilting her head to look him in the eye. 

He’d practiced for this. There was no way he could mess this up. _C’mon, Shane._

“Yes.” 

_Nailed it._

She reached out and swiped some sauce from the corner of his mouth, setting his face aflame again. “Great! I can’t wait.” 

When they all lined up on the open field with their partners, Shane’s nerves began to eat him alive. _He couldn’t mess this up- he couldn’t trip over his feet- everyone was watching and judging and this had to be perfect-_

And then, farmer girl lined up in front of him in… jeans and a t-shirt. 

Which was normal for her, but… everyone standing on her side was wearing white. Just as everyone standing on Shane’s side was wearing black. Even Shane was in dress pants and shiny shoes. 

It… it caught him off guard. Suddenly his nerves fizzled out, thrown off track by her blatant disregard for tradition. 

Furthermore, as the dance started, it became clear that farmer girl _didn’t know the dance at all._

She just moved as she pleased- though she managed to stay in her own lane, somehow- and when it was time to join hands, she reached for him with this big, dumb smile on her face.

Suddenly, all of that nervous energy he’d been building up spilled out of him, as if her and her t-shirt and jeans and impromptu dance moves had flipped a switch somewhere in his nervous system. 

As she grabbed his hands and swung him into her orbit, Shane started _giggling_.

Farmer girl looked kind of surprised, but when Shane lifted her arm and spun her in a circle, following her lead, she laughed along and fell into step with him. 

For the fleeting remainder of the Flower Dance tradition, it was just the two of them in their own little world, laughing and dancing amidst the spring breeze, new grass and petals underfoot. 

  
It was the start of something sweet and airy and _new_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The cat's name is 100% based off of my own cat's name, and yes, I do, on occasion, call her Meemerino.
> 
> ANYWAYS, FARMER INSTINCTIVELY REACHES FOR HER SWORD AT ANY SIGN OF DANGER, THANKS. Mass destruction, I'm telling you.
> 
> WE'RE DATING NOW!!!!


	7. Year 2, Summer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to announce that I started a new save on my Stardew game and I am developing my farm at a MUCH FASTER PACE than my first save file. I'm talkin' reached the bottom of the mines in summer 1, paid to fix the bus to Calico Desert in winter 1- I am FLYING through these accomplishments, this time around 😎

Summer rushed in, hot and heavy, and as much as Shane hated the temperature change (harder to hide under just one shirt instead of two and a sweatshirt), there were lots of other things he had to look forward to in order to keep his mood up.

For one, Jas’s birthday. 

It came relatively quickly into the season, so Shane always had to be prepared early on. Some years, he fumbled on her present (not prepared _enough_ ), but this year, he was ready.

Well, as ready as he could possibly be with anxiety weighing him down.

“Are you _sure_ ,” he asked, probably for the third time, as farmer girl inspected her work. 

“I’m like, 90% sure,” she answered, holding up the purple dress she’d stitched by Shane’s request. “You gave me a dress that fits her, so I just used the measurements from that- plus, you said her favorite color was purple,” she trailed off, waiting for his input.

“Yes,” Shane confirmed, nodding and nodding and nodding until he thought his head might fall off. “It is.”

“Then this should work.” Farmer girl decided, handing the finished product to the nervous wreck beside her. “Hey, look,” she laid a hand on his shoulder, stilling his nervous movements. “This is _your_ present. I might’ve stitched the thing, but you did all the work. You picked out the fabric, you got me the measurements, you decided on the design- _Shane_ ,” she shook him a little, and his eyes finally lifted from the floor to meet hers. 

She smiled, something soft and lovely, and butterflies erupted in his stomach.

(If you had told him, even a year ago, that he’d get butterflies upon looking at farmer girl’s smile, he’d have told you that you’d lost your mind.)

“She’s going to love it.” Lee assured him, patting his shoulder one last time before releasing him. “Now go! You’ve gotta wrap it before her party starts.”

Shane hurried off, heading towards Pierre’s for a last-minute gift wrap solution- but he couldn’t help but turn and check over his shoulder before he got too far away.

Sure enough, farmer girl was still watching him, that fond little smile still pulling at her lips. 

When he got to Pierre’s, he blamed the flush of his cheeks on the heat.

\---

Jas’s birthday party was small, as it usually was (considering the town was quite small, in itself). Attendees consisted of Shane, Marnie, Vincent, Penny, and (of course) Lee. 

Thankfully, Jas loved the dress. She didn’t much care how Shane came across it (just that it was pretty and it fit well), but _Marnie_ was certainly impressed by the effort he put in to have it handmade. 

Marnie got Jas the doll she’d had her eye on for the past couple months, and Jas immediately ran to her dollhouse to introduce it to the other dolls. 

Vincent brought Plum Pudding (Jas’s favorite), courtesy of his mother, and Miss Penny got Jas a new coloring book (complete with a new set of pencils to go along with it). 

Last, but certainly not least, Lee handed Jas a bouquet of fairy roses and a teddy bear. Earlier, she’d admitted to Shane that she’d gotten the plushie from Gunther, of all people, but didn’t need it, so she’d fixed a new bow to its neck and given it to someone who would appreciate much more than she would. 

“Maybe now that I’ve got fairy roses, the fairies will visit me!” Jas exclaimed, clutching the bouquet to her chest. Soon after that, Marnie stole the roses from Jas with a “careful, don’t crush them,” and put them safely in a vase on the kitchen table. 

“Maybe,” Lee agreed as she knelt in front of Jas to fix her bow. “I’ve only seen a fairy once, but it made my melons grow _big_ overnight,” she told the starry-eyed kid in front of her.

Shane smiled, mostly to himself, glad that Lee was pretty good with kids and their fairytale hangups. 

Though, later, when Jas insisted Lee color with her in her new coloring book, as they were filling in pages of Junimos and other fairytales, the way Lee talked about the images on the page…

“Good color choice, Jas,” Shane overheard her saying, one time, “The yellow Junimos are the friendliest. They’ll jump up and down with joy when they see a friend approaching.”

Or later, 

“Junimos really like gemstones. Couldn’t tell you why,” Lee murmured while coloring in a diamond on the page Jas had thrust into her hands, “But you know what they like even more?” She asked Jas, moving on to color a Junimo green.

“What?” Jas hummed, taking painstaking measures to color in the lines.

“Peace and quiet.” Lee huffed, a frown crossing her face for a brief moment. “I swear to god, if Morris steps foot in my direction _one more time,_ ” she muttered to herself, angrily coloring in one last Junimo on the page. 

It made Shane wonder…

Why did Lee know so much about the valley’s lore and fairytales? She had only lived here for a year, there’s no way she could know more about Junimos than the people that literally grew up here. And she _did_ know more- she knew more than anyone Shane had ever met, spoke more confidently on the matter than even those that _cared_ about that kind of stuff. 

And what on _earth_ did his manager at JojaMart have to do with all of that??

\---

This year’s luau and the days following it went _much_ better than last year’s. 

The year before, he’d been sprawled out on the ground, surrounded by empty beer cans, wishing he would close his eyes and never open them again. 

_This_ year, farmer girl dragged him across the beach to where the speakers were set up and spun him around until he was dizzy and giggling. Jas insisted on joining in on the fun, and Lee indulged her in a couple of spins before handing her off to Shane, who did the same, until she tottered back to Vincent with a big ol’ smile on her face. 

(And when farmer girl climbed up the stairs to the ginormous pot of stew, Shane was pretty sure he was the only one who caught the wink she sent his way before pouring an entire bottle of mead into the stew.)

(The Governor _loved_ the stew that year. _Loved_ it. Shane is _floored_.)

\---

A couple of days after the Luau, farmer girl took him to the beach.

“Right around this time of year, shells start popping up like crazy all over the shores,” she explained as they crossed the bridge from town to the beach. “Whatever you find, you can sell to Willy.”

Shane had come to realize along the way somewhere that pretty much everything farmer girl did was to turn a profit somehow. At first it had been a little offputting, but he’d realized the drive to sell wasn’t out of greed, but from the fact that she survived solely off of what she grew on her farm and the money she could make from it. If foraging and mining could grab her some extra cash, she’d do it in a heartbeat. 

“It’s not just me I have to provide for,” she reminded him one day after he’d come across her fishing in the exact same spot twice that day, but with a six hour gap in between each visit. “I’ve got Meem, all my chickens, my ducks, my rabbit, my cows, my goats,” she listed, counting off on her fingers while her bobber floated in the water.

“I get it, I get it,” Shane assured her, readily convinced. Her bobber had disappeared beneath the water right about then, and their conversation had been cut short by a particularly willful fish on her line. 

But, back to the beach. 

Shane didn’t spend much time on the beach. (Sam took Jas and Vincent out to play there, not him.)

So when Lee headed towards Elliott’s little shack and crossed the bridge nearby, Shane followed after her in confusion. He had no idea the beach extended beyond Elliott’s, had no idea there was a totally separate beach, nearly untouched by humans thanks to the tide pools and slippery rocks covering the most of the area. 

Here, Lee climbs across precarious stacks of rocks, leaving Shane behind (safe on the sand, thank you very much), while she pulls sea urchins and crabs and mussels and oysters out of shallow water and crevices Shane would _never_ stick his fingers in. 

Actually, by the time she returns to his side, her backpack full of creatures and shells, her hands and knees are bloody and gritty. 

“Must’ve cut myself on the rocks,” she explained as soon as Shane started to fuss over her. “I’ll be fine.” 

By the time they trekked down the pier to Willy’s, the blood on her knee had trickled down to her ankle. 

Farmer girl allowed Shane to dig the first aid kit out of her backpack, but only _after_ she’d emptied it of the things she’d picked up on the beach. (And you know what? Shane’s fine with that. He really didn’t feel like stabbing himself on a sea urchin while rooting around for bandaids.)

She also allowed him to patch up her knees and palms for her, wincing a little when he sprayed the scrapes with antiseptic, but otherwise unmoved while he stuck bandages and bandaids over the wounds she’d inflicted upon herself. 

“Gonna have to stay out of the mines for a couple days,” Lee joked, nudging him with her elbow as Willy tallied up their total. “Can’t grip my sword like this.”

She laughed when Shane started squawking things like “ _you’d better not!!”_

If he wasn’t wrong, he’d think she was _pleased_ that he cared so much about her. _Well_ , he thought, inspecting his work as he held her hand, _it goes both ways._

\---

Shane knew farmer girl paid attention to everybody’s likes and dislikes, and _especially_ paid attention to their birthdays, so he wasn’t surprised when he passed by Sam thanking her _so much_ for the tigerseye she brought him for his birthday. 

It’s just… now that they’re dating… he can’t help but feel… 

“Jealous?” Lee echoed after him when he finally brought it up. 

Shane merely nodded, beyond embarrassed that he’d even spoke of it in the first place. 

“I mean, you _have_ to know,” Shane began, fiddling with his fingers while she squinted at him, “You _must_ see the way the others look at you.”

Lee’s eyebrows raised at this. “At _me?_ ” 

“Yes!” He exclaimed, astounded that she hadn’t even _noticed_. “You’re strong, smart, and _really_ nice, like, _impossibly_ nice,” he listed, “and I’m like… the _last_ person anyone thought would win your attention,” he muttered, his gaze dropping to the floor. “I feel like I’m not… I feel like you’re going to realize you’ve made a mistake, someday, and this is all going to be some dream I had.” 

“Nope,” farmer girl shook her head, immediately disputing his claim. “Not gonna happen." She insisted, stating it as if it were fact.

Shane stared at her in disbelief until she started talking again.

"I like surprising you with kindness, and I like showing you new things in this world to marvel over and enjoy. I like showing you my world, and I like participating in yours.” She informed him. “I like the smile on your face when I give you something you like, and I like that you’re much kinder than you let on. I like having that all to myself.” She admitted- and his jaw nearly dropped when her cheeks pinked. 

“I like _you_ , Shane,” she murmured as she stepped close to him- and it definitely _wasn’t_ the summer heat that set him alight when she slipped her arms around his middle. “As long as you like me too, I’m not leaving.” 

Nose to nose, her arms gentle around his sides, his own arms creeping up to hold her hips so she couldn’t step away too soon- Shane wanted to kiss her. He wanted to kiss her. That felt right, that felt like something he could do-

But she dropped her head to his shoulder before he could do anything of the sort, and sighed out, “Don’t worry too much about that, okay?”

She knew by now not to tell him, straight up, to _not worry_.

But he thought he could handle worrying about it a little and not a lot. Maybe.

He told her as much, and she laughed. Shane couldn’t help but soak in the vibrations of her laughter against his chest. 

\---

Once, he voiced those worries aloud to Marnie. 

He’d thought that, as someone who thought he could do better with his life in general, she’d give him some critiques, but overall end it with some reassurance about his relationship with farmer girl.

Instead, she considered his concerns for a long while (that Marnie, always taking her _sweet_ time), then offered an idea that seemed so obvious Shane nearly smacked himself for not thinking of it first.

“Why don’t you take her out on a date?” 

\---

He was busy setting his plan in motion when the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies came around. 

What with work taking up the other half of his brainpower (and siphoning some of it straight down the drain, too), he almost _forgot_. If it weren’t for Jas throwing open the door to his room, interrupting some of his wind-down videogaming session, he wouldn’t have shown up at all.

Thankfully, Jas pushed him around until he threw on some flip-flops, packed some snacks, and escorted her to the beach.

When he got there, Jas immediately ditched him to run around the piers with Vincent, despite Marnie’s cries of “be careful- _be careful!!”_

Which left him alone by the edge of the pier, staring into the water, waiting for something to happen. 

As the other townsfolk around him settled in with their friends and family, Shane- not for the first time- realized how lonely he was. 

It had gotten better, now that he’d been to counseling, and especially now that he was dating farmer girl, but he was still afraid to open up. He had also built quite the reputation of “that mean, drunk guy,” so he wasn’t sure that anyone would want to _be_ his friend, even if he mustered up the courage to reach out. 

“Where’s Lee?” 

Shane turned towards the source of the question to find Sebastian next to him. He nearly blended in with the shadows, what with his dark hair and his hands shoved into the pockets of his black hoodie (a wardrobe choice Shane hadn’t been brave enough to make, even at night on the beach). 

Shane glanced around, scanning the pier in case she’d shown up without him noticing. Upon finding nothing, he turned back to Sebastian with a shrug. “Not here?” He hazarded a guess. 

“Hmm.” Sebastian sighed, clearly disappointed. “That’s odd. She’s usually with you.”

Shane figured that was mostly correct. At outings like these, she usually was by his side, humoring him with stories of farm life and the mines, listening to his latest beef with JojaMart, or entertaining Jas somehow. 

Shane didn’t have anything to say. Neither did Sebastian. 

So they just… stood there in silence.

_Good going, Shane, way to make friends._

\---

Farmer girl showed up _just_ as Lewis pushed the candleboat off into the waves. 

Out of breath and smudged with dirt, she skidded to a stop next to Shane and Sebastian with wide eyes, immediately wondering, “Did I miss it? Am I too late?” 

Both men shook their heads, and farmer girl slumped over herself, bracing herself on her knees and panting, trying to catch her breath in the moments she had left before the event really started.

“Where were you?” Shane wondered as he helped her take off her backpack- her _heavy_ backpack, he noted as he placed it onto the pier. 

“Mines,” she managed between heavy breaths. “Lost track of time. Ran all the way here.” 

Shane shook his head, familiar with this situation by now. “Are you okay? Not too banged up?” He wondered, placing a tentative hand on her arm to help steady her.

Finally standing up straight, Lee winced away from his touch, shielding her skin with her hand. “Mostly. Got burned somewhere around the one hundreds,” she admitted with a grim smile, “And one of those shadowy brutes knocked me down into the dirt on my way out of the mines.”

“How’d you get burned in the mines?” Sebastian wondered- and just from that question alone, Shane figured Sebastian had absolutely _no_ knowledge of the mines and what they contained.

“Well, it’s not hard if you’re not careful.” Farmer girl admitted, patiently sitting still while Shane patched up the burn on her arm. “Everything is pretty hot from level 90 on ‘til the bottom. But one of those… pink… floating balls of… I don’t know what they’re called, but it spit fire at me before I could get close enough to kill it. Didn’t dodge in time.” 

Shane watched Sebastian process _pink floating ball_ and _spit fire_ , and had to keep his amusement to himself while the guy’s eyebrows furrowed deeper and deeper. 

“Oh! But I snagged one of these while I was down there,” she announced, kneeling beside her backpack once Shane finished up with her arm. “Here!” 

Shane was not in the least surprised to see a Frozen Tear laying in her palm as she brandished her present in Sebastian’s direction. 

Sebastian stared at the Tear for a moment before taking it and depositing it in his sweatshirt pocket with an awed, “ _thanks,_ ” chatted with her for a moment more, then left the two to themselves. 

As Lee leaned in close to him (and he made sure not to bump her burned arm), took his hand in hers, and pointed out the lucky green jellyfish that Vincent was always going on about wanting to see, Shane figured… yeah, what they had _was_ pretty special. 

It wasn’t something just anybody else could replicate.

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BOOM!! ART! I did it in black and white so that y'all could still project onto my player character if you wanted :) I always give my farmer purple hair, and I LOVE the space buns hair option, so that's what I gave my depiction of Lee to wear :D ALSO DON'T @ ME ABOUT THE NUMBER ON SHANE'S SHIRT. All I know is that he's wearing a jersey (see his wiki page for his character art development) BUT IDK WHAT EXACT NUMBER IS THERE SO I GUESSED.
> 
> I THINK THE SQUID KIDS ARE SO FUCKING DUMB LOOKING!!!! pink floating ball with a dumb face that spits fire and only has 1 HP lookin ass... NAMED _SQUID KID????_


	8. Year 2, Fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for conversations including suicidal thoughts and depression this chapter :))))

Fall rolled around again, yellowing the leaves on the trees, casting them onto the ground, and coaxing endless mushrooms out of the ground to feed on the dying matter. 

Shane did not like mushrooms. 

He particularly did not like listening to Leah go on about how shrooms changed her life and how she’s gained new insight into the artistic field thanks to her experiences and how they have _such_ an impact on her art and-

“You should have an art show,” Lee piped up, halting Leah in her tracks. “You have so much stuff to show off, and if you put it on display, someone might be interested in buying!” 

Leah’s face flushed a bright red, immediately flattered that Lee would even _suggest_ such a thing, and stammered out an embarrassed agreement, promising to keep Lee up to date on her progress as she carried the project out. 

As Shane edged away from Leah, Lee _ever so graciously_ flagged Elliott down and guided Shane into a new (read: without Leah) conversation. 

“Thank you both, again, for coming,” Elliott took each of their hands in turn, giving them an earnest smile. “It’s only a celebration when there’s people to celebrate with, after all.” 

“I would _never_ miss your birthday!” Lee assured the writer. “You know that!”

Shane knows that.

He’s pretty sure the whole valley knows that.

Elliott laughed in that refined way of his, holding a gentle hand to his mouth as his shoulders shook with the sound. 

(Being around Elliott had always made Shane feel like a sack of potatoes. Elliott was so refined and well-kept and _handsome_ , and Shane was… well…)

“Sorry about sending Leah off on a tangent like that,” Lee apologized, dragging Shane’s attention to her wry expression. “I forgot that she did the same thing last year when I handed her a basket of foraged mushrooms.” 

Shane waved her off, told her it was fine- mostly for fear of smack-talking Elliot’s friends right in front of him. To his surprise, Elliott let out a put-upon sigh and glanced over to where Leah was chatting rather animatedly with Gus at the counter of the Saloon. 

“Mushrooms, again?” He inquired, sounding all the world like he already knew the answer. When Shane nodded, Elliott rolled his eyes, smiling ruefully.

“That Leah,” he chuckled, “She’s got her interests, that’s for sure.” 

“ _Interests_ ,” Shane echoed, both impressed and dissatisfied with Elliott’s choice of words. “You could say that.” 

“Y’know,” Lee started, a sly grin twisting onto her face, “I’ve _heard_ that some variants of shrooms help with depression and the like,” she hummed. “Are you _sure_ you don’t wanna sit down for a trip with Leah sometime?”

Shane smacked a hand to his forehead, muttering under his breath about _I’m clean now_ and _why the fuck would I want to risk a bad trip just to see if I feel less sad sometimes_ and _you’re crazy if you think I’m gonna trip out with shrooms girl in her cottage_ and the like. 

Lee was immediately in _stitches_ , to the point where she folded over herself, still giggling, completely inconsolable. 

“You would not _believe_ the amount of times I’ve heard her tout such evidence,” Elliott assured them- and Shane echoed his agreement right behind him. “She brandishes the things at me like they’re some sort of cure-all. Call me pessimistic, but I don't believe medication- manufactured or natural- can simply _cure_ mental illness.” He informed them- _refined_ , as always.

But something about what he was saying stuck out to Shane. Something… something…

“ _You?_ ” Shane finally blurted, suddenly incredulous. “ _You’re_ depressed too?”

Immediately regretting the words that jumped out of his mouth, Shane blushed a bright red. Elliott laughed- thank _god_ , Shane didn’t know what he would’ve done if the man had gotten angry with him- and merely smiled, something small and warm. 

“The future is daunting to even contemplate, some days,” Elliott began- waxing poetic, as usual. “Especially for a writer. There’s no guarantee that the hard work you put into your manuscript will come to fruition. In the end, it may end up being a flower that only blooms for you. And then what will you do?” He crossed his arms across his chest as he mused aloud. “What will you live off of, when, in the end, your hard work earned you nothing?” 

Shane could only stand there, mouth agape in sheer surprise.

“But, of course, one cannot ruminate on such negative possibilities.” The writer chuckled, waving away the metaphorical cloud that had begun to form over his head. “It only makes a man bitter.” 

Shane barked out a laugh- startling Lee and earning him a raised eyebrow from Elliott- but he followed the harsh sound up with a nod, easily agreeing with the refined writer. 

“Been there,” he offered sheepishly, as explanation. 

Something in Elliot’s eyes lit up- as if some pieces had clicked together in his mind- and he reached out to clap a warm hand onto Shane’s shoulder. 

“To despair is a universal human experience. But to be unable to escape despair is a tragic illness that befalls the unlucky few.” He rhapsodized (or at least, that’s what it sounded like to Shane). “But we unlucky few must stick together, no? Only we can truly empathize with one another, and lead each other out of the darkness, hand in hand, step by step.”

“Seconded!” Lee agreed, pumping a fist in the air.

With a triumphant cheer, the writer hooked an arm around Lee’s shoulders, pulling her to his side with gusto- and Shane was just about to make a face of complaint when Elliott did the same to him. 

“More wine!” The birthday boy called to Gus, a truly radiant smile breaking out across his handsome face.

After that party, Shane wondered if he’d accidentally made a friend.

\---

Shane learned that farmer girl’s penchant for digging around in bushes was because there was an actual blackberry _season_ , in which the bushes around Stardew Valley began to burst with berries in abundance. 

“You’re going to think I’m crazy when you hear this,” Lee piped up one weekend while Shane was pitching in to help with the berry hunt, “But once I met a bear in the deep woods who _really_ wanted some maple syrup, and when I gave him some, he gave me all this information about the berries that grow around these parts.” 

Shane nodded placidly, unperturbed. “You _are_ crazy.” He told her point-blank, dropping another handful of berries in her basket. "Bears don't talk."

Lee merely laughed, amused by his unapologetic response. “It’s true!” She insisted between giggles- which only made Shane believe her even less. 

\---

After blackberry season passed- a very important (read: _lucrative_ ) time for his precious farmer girl- Shane’s plans came to fruition. 

He met her at her door before she started her morning rounds and put the first step in action. 

“Here,” he handed her one of the two tickets he’d bought, and she brought it up close to her face to read the tiny print. “It’s for the gridball game tonight in Zuzu city.”

She looked up from the ticket with her mouth curled into a little “o” of surprise. 

“You’ve never been, right?” He remembered. “My favorite team is playing and I got tickets to go. I thought… maybe you’d wanna…” he trailed off, waiting for her response.

“I’d love to!” Farmer girl beamed, clutching the ticket to her chest. “When are we going?” 

Shane gave her the time to meet him at the bus stop and answered her questions on what to wear and what to bring- and felt a little flutter in his chest at her enthusiasm for something that wasn't even her passion. 

Before he left for work, Meem came to the door, meowing loudly at Lee’s feet until they both bent to pet her. 

“She wants water,” Lee informed him as Meem bumped her little head against his hand, demanding more attention. “She makes sure I know she’s going to die if I wait any longer to get around to it.” 

“Well,” Shane hummed, finally standing to his feet (and feeling his knees complain as he straightened them), “You’d better get to it before she keels over from dehydration.”

Farmer girl sighed and grabbed a watering can from behind the door. “Better get to it,” she echoed. “C’mon Meemer,” she called as she walked with Shane down the porch stairs. Meem trotted after them, sticking to farmer girl’s heels as they went. 

“Have a good day at work!” Lee called after him as they parted ways. 

Meem _moww_ ed loudly after farmer girl spoke- either saying her goodbyes as well, or demanding Lee get a move on.

\---

Shane was a little more than just _nervous_ to meet Lee at the bus stop. 

First of all, he was nervous that she wouldn’t show. Or worse, that she’d show _late_ and they’d miss the bus to Zuzu City. It probably wouldn’t be on purpose, but she was a little absent-minded and tended to get caught up in her work. If she was in the mines, there was a fair chance she could get cornered by some monster and have to fight her way out before she could make it over here. 

Second, he was nervous that she wouldn’t _like_ it. Some people found watching sports boring, and some people just didn’t like sports at all- and he didn’t want Lee to think the date he took her on was _boring_. 

Not to mention the countless _other_ what-ifs that could befall them on this particular outing, ruining his attempt at a date and ruining his chances with Lee _forever_ , and-

“Hey!”

Lee’s voice pulled him out of his spiral, and he looked up to see her turning the corner from the direction of her farm. 

“Hey,” Shane returned, trying to ignore his heart still pounding ( _not_ in a good way) in his chest. “I like your beanie.” 

Her fingers drifted up to touch the edge of the hat she wore as she murmured a little _thanks_. 

Upon reaching his side, her gaze traversed his face. She must’ve seen a grim expression, because her eyebrows pulled together in concern. 

“What’s wrong?” She wondered as she took his hand in hers. Shane shook his head, assuring her it was alright, but she insisted he tell her, no matter how slight the worry. 

Shane let out a long sigh and tugged at his jacket with his free hand. “I’m just worried that… I just want you to have fun, tonight. You’ve never been to a gridball game before, and I don’t know if you’ll even like it- this is just something _I_ like, after all, maybe I should’ve picked something else-”

Lee pressed her fingers to his lips, silencing his worried ramblings. 

“I won’t know until I try,” she reminded him, “And, besides, you’re there, so I’m bound to have fun, regardless.”

Shane tried to argue with a _you don’t know that_ , but she just squeezed his hand and smiled at him, certain in ways he would probably never be. 

\---

She fell asleep on the bus ride over, probably exhausted from a hard day’s work. 

Shane was definitely tired as well, but something inside him was buzzing with energy, keeping him wired and awake. 

He couldn’t say he was _upset_ about not being able to take a nap. Not when Lee’s head fell to rest on his shoulder and her hand stayed entwined with his the whole ride there.

\---

The stadium was _loud_ and _bright_. 

Shane could tell it was a shock for farmer girl- especially after just waking up. But she took everything in with curious eyes, her head turning every which way to take in every little detail. 

“It’s noisy,” she noted, looking around the stands. “Makes me appreciate how quiet it is back home.”

“Oh yeah?” Shane hummed, as if he hadn’t already figured that out. “Makes sense.”

“And what about you?” Lee wondered as she followed him down the aisles of vendors. 

“I get bored with Pelican Town sometimes. There’s not much to do.” He admitted, “But I like that you think differently. We balance each other out.”

Lee looked pleased by the statement, and Shane immediately felt pleased with himself.

He made sure to buy them drinks before they sat down- in their _front row seats_ , mind you- and Lee gripped her monster-sized cup in her calloused farmer hands while taking in the expanse of the field laid out in front of her. 

“It’s big,” she noted after taking a long sip of Joja Cola. 

“It’s 100 yards,” Shane informed her. “You can tell by the numbers marking the grids.” 

Lee nodded, her eyes darting between the numbers on the edge of the field, and- after her next sip of cola- noted, “I could plant a lot of potatoes here.” 

Shane couldn’t help but laugh- which made Lee squawk _what?!_ in mock offense, still clutching her cola to her chest. 

(He actually had to _show her_ the cupholder in the armrest of her seat before she finally put it down.)

\---

When the game started, Shane had a lot of explaining to do. 

Lee had absolutely _zero_ knowledge of how gridball worked, and it wasn’t as easy to grasp as a sport like soccer, where you just kicked the ball into the goal to score a point. 

“Okay, so they’re lining up for a kick that’s going to get them three points if they make it,” Shane explained, pointing to the players. 

“Why three points?” Lee wondered as she squinted at the field. 

“I don’t _know_ ,” Shane sighed in mock exasperation, poking fun at her persistent curiosity. “Because?”

“Fine, fine,” Lee laughed, giving up. “Do you think they’ll make it?” 

Shane judged the distance between the players and the goal, called upon his knowledge of the players in the game and their skillsets, and pondered the possibility of a successful punt. 

“Maybe,” he finally decided. “It’s possible, but they’re a little far away, so it’ll be a stretch.” 

“But it’ll get them ahead,” Lee noted, eyeing the scoreboard. Shane nodded, pleased that she was following along. 

They both fell silent as the players started running, lining up for the kick, foot connecting with the ball, the whole stadium watching as the ball spiraled through the air, across the field, and-

_Goal!!_

Shane jumped out of his seat- along with most everyone else in the stadium- and the stadium erupted into cheers. Lee followed his lead, stood to her feet, and cheered alongside him. 

“They did it!” Shane cried, ecstatic- and kind of surprised. “They actually did it!” 

With his stomach in knots and his heart soaring, he reached for his source of comfort- and Lee giggled as he pulled her to him, celebrating as well. Caught up in the excitement of the whole stadium cheering, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers in a celebratory kiss, and-

_shit-_

_he hadn’t meant to- well, fuck, this wasn’t really how he’d planned their first kiss to go,_

Lee was staring at him, wide-eyed and clutching his jacket, frozen in place as if he’d shot her. 

“I- I’m sorry,” Shane stammered, suddenly embarrassed, “I shouldn’t have gotten carried away. That was kind of-”

The hands tangled in his jacket tugged until he leaned to meet her again, and suddenly it was _his_ turn to freeze in place, wide-eyed and surprised, as Lee pressed her lips to his in a kiss that felt _way_ more real than the previous one. 

His hesitation only lasted a moment, though, and he settled comfortably against her with his arms around her waist, holding her close. 

When she leaned away from him, she covered his mouth with his hand- conveniently silencing him and keeping him from kissing her again so she could speak.

“If you show me that smile more often, you can kiss me whenever you want.” 

The sounds of the stadium faded against the roar of blood in his ears as he kissed his farmer girl in front of god and everyone else. 

\---

On the bus ride back home, Shane felt light and giddy- lighter than he’d felt in _years_. 

Lee wouldn’t stop smiling this tiny smile- like she was trying to push it down, but it kept rising to the surface nonetheless. His chest warmed just seeing it every time he glanced over to her.

She really was a beacon of light in his life. He couldn’t _believe_ how far they’d come. 

“Hey, Lee?” He found himself speaking up, breaking their comfortable silence. She turned her gaze to him from where it had been scanning the city skyline as it passed, and he struggled not to lose his train of thought just by staring into her eyes. 

“I, uh… I wanted to thank you,” he admitted, a tad sheepishly, “I know it was probably rough getting to know me, and I struggled a lot with anxiety and depression- and I _still_ have a long way to go- but you stuck with me through all of it, no matter how dark it got.”

Lee merely smiled at him, nodded her agreement, gave him the customary _it’s no problem, really_ , and returned to gazing at the skyline. 

Shane settled back in his chair, feeling airy after getting that off of his chest, and tangled his fingers in hers.

“You know,” Lee spoke up, still staring out the window, “I used to work for JojaMart.” 

Shane sat up again, taken by surprise. “You _did?_ ” 

Lee nodded. “I worked for corporate, in the city.” She informed him. “I sat at a desk every day and wrote reports until it was time to go home.”

Shane could only stare for a moment, too caught off guard by the mental image of his farmer girl in business casual, sitting at a _desk_ all day. 

“I…” she trailed off, and the shift in tone from bright to hesitant caught him off guard. She leaned her forehead against the window for a moment, then piped back up again with, “I used to be like you. I got up, went to work, came home, went to sleep, and did it all over again. I hated my life and I hated myself.” She admitted, so quiet he could barely hear her over the clatter of the bus. 

“What changed?” Shane wondered, so completely surprised that he could only move forward with the conversation. 

He caught a glimpse of her reflection in the bus window, and he was surprised by the sad smile that pulled at her lips. 

“I used to be really close with my grandfather,” she began- though Shane didn’t see what that had to do with anything. “And I kind of went into a spiral when he died.” 

_oh._

“He left me a letter, but I couldn’t bring myself to open it.” She admitted with a quiet sigh. “One day, I came home from work in the foulest mood, ready to call it quits- on my job, on my life, whatever it took to get out of the endless rat race I had entered myself in somehow.” 

Shane nearly jumped when she squeezed his hand- too caught up in the moment to be focused on things like _having fingers_ \- but she either didn’t notice his flightiness or didn’t mention it.

“I opened his letter before I made any decisions- I felt like if I was going to die, I should probably read his dying words. He’d yell at me if I didn’t.” She laughed, but the sound was hollow, empty in the face of the content she was discussing. “And I found… a key.” 

“To…?” Shane echoed.

Lee finally turned in her seat, finally faced him and met his eyes. “To his farm.” She murmured. “He left me the house, the land, everything. In his letter, he said the farm was my chance to start over, should I need to take it. So you know what? I said _fuck it_ , put in my two weeks at Joja, and moved out.”

“Damn,” Shane hummed, impressed at her resolve. “Well,” he added, and her eyes slid up to meet his at the sound, and he smiled as he added, “I’m just glad you’re still here.” 

Lee couldn’t help the laugh that echoed out of her at that, and she settled more comfortably in her seat. 

“I appreciate the apology for how you treated me while you were going through all of that,” Lee started up again, “But you don’t have to apologize for being depressed and anxious.” She insisted. “That’s not something you can control.”

When Shane murmured a quiet _thank you for understanding_ , Lee’s expression turned contemplative, and she stared at him with something in her gaze that he couldn’t read.

“I do understand, Shane,” was all she ended up saying in response. “I always have.”

All at once, pieces started clicking together in Shane’s mind. 

_The way she’d never shied away from his glares,_

_The way she’d always come back, even when he demanded he be left alone,_

_The look in her eyes when she caught sight of him slumped against the wall from across the Saloon,_

_How she’d never judged him, not even once, for turning to alcohol, how the only question she’d ever had was “why are you so sad?”_

Lee wasn’t just _kind_. Lee _understood_. She knew, from _personal experience_ , what he’d gone through- _every bit of it._

Even the parts she didn’t know. The parts he didn’t talk about, that Marnie didn’t talk about, that _Jas_ didn’t even talk about. The parts he’d never told her.

The parts he… probably should tell her. 

After a moment more of stunned silence, Shane dropped his head to her shoulder and wormed his arm around her waist. 

“I lost somebody important to me, too,” he admitted into the space between them. 

This was something he didn’t talk about. He’d rather pretend it never happened. 

“My best friends in the world had just had a baby,”

Shane remembered Jas’s little face, the wisps of hair on her baby head, the way she’d screamed and the way they’d had to feed her _so much_ to get her to stop crying. He remembered being appointed her godfather, remembered it being more of a _you’re my best friend and this is practically your daughter too_ kind of thing, not a _I’m going to die so you should take care of her when I go_ kind of thing. 

“Then, out of nowhere, I get a call from the hospital.” Shane whispered, the words beginning to curl in his throat, choking off the story before it could get out. “They were dead. Just like that. Suddenly, I’m in charge of my dead best friend’s child.”

Lee didn’t say anything. She just reached up and brushed her fingers through his hair. Calming. Quiet.

“Obviously, I didn’t know what the fuck to do with a baby,” Shane admitted, “So I moved to my aunt’s, down here in Stardew. Marnie raised Jas, not me. Everyone thinks Marnie’s her mother, unless Jas tells them otherwise.” 

Silence. 

“It should’ve been me.” He breathed, an admission he’d never spoken aloud- not to anyone. Not to Marnie, not to his therapist, not to anyone. “I should’ve died. I was useless then, and I’m useless now.”

The confession squeezes tight around his throat and prickles hot at the corners of his eyes. It threatens to spill tears down his cheeks and rip sobs from his lips if he's not careful.

“But it wasn’t you, and you’re here now.” Lee finally spoke, breaking her maintained silence. She reached out to curl an arm around him and pulled him into as best a hug as she could manage while sitting on a bus. “They’d have died in vain if you didn’t live your life to the fullest in their stead. And you _will live_. It’s what they would’ve wanted.” 

Shane nodded into her shoulder, trying to employ the breathing techniques his therapist had taught him to level out the hysteria rising in his throat. 

Lee held him until the bus stopped in Stardew Valley.

\---

Regardless of the heavy subjects discussed on the bus ride home, Shane and Lee both decided they’d had a wonderful time on Shane’s date. 

It gave Shane the confidence to start thinking of other ideas, other ways to spend time together with her. It was one of the small things he could do for her in return, besides buy her dinner and presents or worry over her surprisingly dangerous lifestyle. 

It muted that annoying little voice in his head that told him he wasn’t worth dating at all.

\---

When Spirit’s Eve rolled around, Lee insisted they dress up in matching costumes.

“Couple’s costumes!” She crowed, glee evident in her eyes as she contemplated their options. 

It became clear that Shane was not going to agree to the sillier options. No, he did _not_ want to dress up as ketchup and mustard- and _no_ , he was _not_ going dressed as the chicken or the egg.

He _would_ , however, consider the actual costume ideas, and toyed around with the possibility as going as witch and wizard. 

“But I went as a witch last year,” Lee complained, sticking her lip out in an exaggerated pout.

Shane knows this. Oh, Shane _knows_ this. He remembers that little ensemble of hers with _clarity_.

“We could do… vampire and werewolf? Or… cops and robbers?” She suggested, listing their options. “Maybe… beauty and the beast?” 

Shane’s expression immediately switched from contemplative to distaste, unenthused by her last suggestion. 

Lee noticed.

“Oh, Shane,” she sighed, shaking her head back and forth. “You know I didn’t mean it like that,”

“No, no, I know _you_ didn’t,” he assured her, “It’s just that… everyone else in town will make the connection. If we do that.” He mumbled, increasingly less pleased with the words coming out of his mouth. “They already think that, anyways.”

Lee frowned, the corners of her mouth twitching down as she lowered her gaze to the ground- striking a pose that Shane recognized as her _thinking stance_. 

After a moment of contemplation and a slow refocusing in on reality, she looked up at him with a razor-sharp smile and an eager glint to her eyes.

“What if we prove them wrong?” 

\---

Marnie saw him first.

“ _Shane?!_ ” She immediately yelped upon catching sight of him. After running towards him, squinting the whole way over, she confirmed his identity with a gasp of, “It really _is_ you!” 

Jas saw him a couple moments later. She told him he looked pretty. 

Shane thanked her. 

Sebastian caught sight of him next- but he didn’t say anything. His eyes certainly went wide, though. 

Emily just about knocked him over as soon as she noticed him approaching. 

“Wooooooow!!!” She dragged the vowel out as she took in as many details as she could at once. “When Lee said she was making you a suit, I didn’t think it would be for _Spirit’s Eve!!_ You look great!!” She exclaimed, bouncing up and down on her toes- making the antennae on her head wiggle in time with her movements. 

“Your bee costume looks nice too,” Shane offered a compliment in return. Emily beamed- and promptly turned to show him her authentically designed stinger. 

“But enough about me!!” She insisted, pushing a strand of blue hair out of her face. “I can’t believe you let her do your makeup!” 

Shane colored at this, going red in the cheeks. “Actually, ah,” he stammered, unwilling to admit that he’d done his own eyeliner- a relic of knowledge from his scene days in highschool. 

(He’d thrown that trend away as soon as he joined the gridball team, and he tried not to think about it much.)

“No, no, it’s really subtle- I won’t tell anyone you're wearing makeup if that’s what you’re worried about,” Emily assured him, eyes wide as she promised and promised and promised. 

Emily had always been really nice to him- and Shane appreciated that, he really did- but she’d always been so eager about things that she tended to go a little overboard. 

“Sure,” Shane hummed, glad he’d avoided making a fool of himself, “Thanks.” 

“So,” Elliott’s voice snuck up from behind him, “You’ve finally shown your true colors!” 

When he appeared in Shane’s line of sight, Shane was quite amused to see him dressed as Count Dracula- face bloodied and nails sharpened in true dramatic, Elliott fashion. 

“I wouldn’t say _true_ colors,” Shane warbled, on the verge of turning red again. He wasn’t used to this- any of this. The conversation, the people, the friendliness, the _compliments-_

“Raaa!!” 

Shane stumbled as something collided into him from behind, and he scrambled to recenter himself as it became clear that whatever had run into him was now hooking its legs around his waist and _clinging to him_.

“The beast reveals herself!” Elliott crowed, drawing a shiny, thin blade from the belt around his waist. “Unhand our gallant prince, you dastardly foe!” 

“You’re much too gallant to be a bloodsucking fiend like Dracula,” Lee noted as she settled into place, draped over Shane’s back. Shane steadied her legs and took on a portion of her weight- mostly to keep her from ripping the suit from all of her scrabbling to keep herself upright on his back.

“Steady now, beastie,” Shane absently hummed, adjusting his grip on her thighs so she wouldn’t tumble off of him. 

After all of the ideas she’d come up with, they’d settled on beauty and the beast after all.

But _only_ after Lee had proposed the idea that _she’d_ go as the beast, and she’d help Shane dress up to the nines in return. 

Shane had _insisted_ Lee did _not_ need to custom tailor a suit for him- _but she fucking did anyways because she’s an unstoppable force of creation that Shane does not in the slightest have the wits about him to defeat._

Cut to the night of Spirit’s Eve. 

Shane had never really thought of himself as _handsome_. 

But before walking out the door, he’d caught glimpse of himself fully put together in a mirror, and he couldn’t help but stop and stare. 

What with his hair styled differently- slicked back, it looked… more mature, somehow- the suit that ended up fitting him _perfectly_ , accentuating everything he’d never known he had to accentuate in the first place, his stubborn shadow shaved as close as he could manage, and his _makeup done_ ( _minimal_ , Lee insisted, _it’s about highlighting your natural beauty, not masking it_ )...

(not that Shane minded either way.)

...Well, even _Shane_ had to admit he looked pretty damn good. And there was no bigger critic of Shane than himself, after all. (At least, that’s what his therapist told him.)

Lee, however, had gleefully taken this opportunity to basically go full-feral. He’d bitten back a laugh when she’d begun the process of mussing up her hair and rubbing earth-toned makeup clumsily across her cheeks, mimicking dirt stains- but the more effort she’d put into the outfit, the more Shane grew to like the look on her. 

She’d glued longer nails to the blunt nails of hers she already owned (she kept them short for farming reasons) and filed them to _nasty_ looking points- points that pricked into his neck and scraped across his scalp when she ruffled his hair (gently, so as not to mess up their hard work). She’d found fake fangs to attach to her canines, making her sharp smiles even sharper, the glint of dangerous teeth only making the wild gleam in her eyes that much more prominent. Some old jeans had been torn open in the shape of slash marks, and she’d smudged dark makeup around her eyes to finish the look. 

Shane hadn’t thought much of that last detail when she’d done it, but here, in the dark, it made the whites of her eyes stand out that much more.

She truly looked _feral_. 

If he ran across a creature like this in the forest or something, he’d definitely back away slowly before sprinting back to the safety of his home. 

(Now, if _Lee_ approached him like this, he’d sing a different song. Shane couldn’t help but find this wild side of her _alluring_ , in some magnetic way.)

“Let’s try out the maze this year!” Lee announced, pointing the way forwards with her clawed fingers. “We’ll see if that silly Wizard can best me this time!”

Shane merely shook his head, amused, and bid Elliott and Emily goodbye before heading towards the maze with Lee still on his back. 

Several people waved as they trekked across town square- Sebastian actually spoke, this time around, giving Shane a “you look good” and Lee a “you look _cool_ ” as they passed by. 

Lee stuck her tongue out at the skeletons ambling around the cage Marlon kept them in, and one of them rattled at her in response. 

“What’d it say?” Shane wondered.

Lee shrugged. “Probably, _I’ll kill you if I see you again_ , or something like that.” 

“Maybe it just wants to be _friends_ , Lee,” he antagonized her, jostling her around as he walked. Lee giggled and begged him to stop, trying not to fall off of him, and he acquiesced without complaint. 

“If it wants to be friends, why do they _throw bones at me?_ ” Lee demanded. “Huh? Riddle me that!” She crowed, tugging on his ear with clawed fingers. 

“Maybe it’s a cultural difference,” Shane shot back, unwilling to back down from her challenge. “What if that’s just how they say hello?” 

Lee snorted, unconvinced. “I’ll believe that when I see them throwing bones at _each other_ instead of _me_.” 

\---

Lee didn’t make Shane carry her through the maze. She _did_ make him hold her hand while they navigated it- as if he needed to be _convinced_. 

“It’s kinda peaceful in here, don’t you think?” Shane noted as they traversed seemingly endless corridors of greenery. 

Lee turned a surprisingly _molten_ gaze in his direction- making him stutter to a stop, completely entranced by the _hungry_ gleam in her eyes. 

“Don’t let your guard down, pretty boy,” she hummed, stalking closer to him with the surety of a well-practiced hunter, “Or I might _eat you up_.”

The rasp of her voice made his stomach flip (in excitement???) and the drag of a _wickedly_ sharp nail up his throat made a shiver course down his spine. 

The longer she stared at him with _that look_ , the longer Shane felt like the heat racing through his system was going to absolutely _consume him_. 

But, all of a sudden, that aura around her dissipated, gone like water droplets on a hot pan. She gave him her best monster growl and catapulted towards him again, looping her arms around his neck and kissing him right on the lips before tossing her head back and _cackling_.

“C’mon, beastie,” Shane rolled his eyes and pulled her forwards, continuing their trek through the maze- but not before stealing a kiss of his own. 

\---

By some stroke of luck- or _incredible_ skill, Shane wasn’t sure which- his farmer girl guided him left and right and over and under until they rounded a corner to find…

“A pumpkin?” Shane squawked, eyeing the thing Lee had lifted out of the decorative crate at the end of the maze. 

“A _golden_ pumpkin.” Lee corrected him. “It’s made of gold, and it’s worth a lot of money. I haven’t found any other use for it yet.” 

“You’ve found one of these _before?_ ” 

Lee nodded, unmoved by his incredulity. “The Wizard hides one of these at the end of the maze every year. I guess no one’s ever found it.” She shrugged, wrapped her arms around her prize, and tilted her head in the direction from whence they’d came. “I really wish he included an _exit_ , too, but I guess that would defeat the purpose of the maze.”

\---

After the Spirit’s Eve festival was over and Lee dropped her pumpkin safely off at home, she produced a blanket from somewhere within her house and invited Shane to follow behind her. 

She brought him out to an open space on her land, a clearing with no trees and soft grass, laid the blanket down over the earth, and invited him to lay with her.

For a while- many minutes, perhaps an entire hour- the two of them just laid there and stared up at the stars. 

(Occasionally, Shane would turn to gaze at his own _personal_ star, but that was for him to know.)

The night was so peaceful, filled with crickets and frogs and the _woosh_ of a cold breeze through the remaining grass, signaling winter’s impending freeze. 

“Tell me a story.” Shane whispered into the night.

Lee shuffled in her place beside him, stretching first before bringing her arms up to cushion her head. 

“My first winter here in Stardew,” she began, her voice as crisp and clear as the night air, “I came across a very strange… _thing_. I chased it through town and startled it right out of a bush near the playground.” She recalled. “I’d never seen anything like it before. It was shaped like a person, but it was pitch black and almost didn’t seem solid- like I could scoop matter out of him with a cup.” 

“Like shadows?” Shane echoed. 

“Exactly like shadows.” Lee confirmed- and the blanket rustled in his ears as she nodded. “Actually, I learned later that he’s part of a race of beings called Shadow People.” 

Shane snorted softly. “Nuh uh.” 

“Yeah huh!” Lee insisted. “So I shake this thing out of a bush, and he immediately starts pleading with me, begging me not to hurt him, handing over the thing I hadn’t even known he’d stolen, backing away from me like I was liable to cut him down at any moment. Which… I’ll admit, I kind of was.” 

“What happened?”

“I got a magnifying glass.” Lee shrugged, the fabric of her shirt _swishing_ against the blanket. “And I never saw him above ground again.”

Shane thought that was a weird modifier to tack onto the end of a story.

“But… _under_ ground?” He prompted, waiting for her to fill in the blanks. 

He could tell she was pleased that he picked up on the hint just by the tone of her voice when she answered. 

“So, about a month ago, Gunther comes knocking at my door.” She continued, a smile evident in the way she formed her words. “He gives me this old key, says the museum has just… had it. Forever. There’s only one place in the whole valley I know that requires an old key to enter.” 

She paused her story- and it took a couple moments of stagnant silence for Shane to realize he was supposed to guess. 

“Uh… Clint’s secret basement?” He tried. 

“No- does Clint even have a basement?” Lee demanded, turning an expectant gaze his way. 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he did,” Shane ended up mumbling in response- giving Lee a good giggle before she continued her story. 

“It opened the way to the sewers.”

Shane wrinkled his nose- but he knew better, by now, than to question his farmer girl’s motives for venturing into odd places. 

“And, after I finished reeling from the smell,” she joked, laughing a dry laugh that told him she did _not_ enjoy the atmosphere down there, “I started snooping around, checking out the place. And, wouldn’t you know it, I stumbled across our guy.” She hummed.

“The Shadow People?” Shane recalled.

“Shadow _person_ ,” Lee corrected- but he could tell that she was pleased regardless. “His name is Krobus, and he runs a little shop down there.”

“He runs a _shop?_ ” 

“His wares are very interesting,” Lee continued, unfazed by his surprise (as always). 

“You’re telling me that not only is there a race of beings called Shadow People, but one of them lives in Stardew and runs a shop in our sewers,” Shane demanded, recalling all the bits and pieces she’d retold so far. 

“Hey! You asked me for a story!” She shot back, grinning in a way that told him she didn’t mind one bit that he didn’t believe her. 

“You’re crazy, farmer girl,” Shane sighed, shaking his head in mock disappointment. 

He _certainly_ wasn’t disappointed when she rolled on top of him with a toothy smile (still equipped with fangs) and murmured, “you like me that way.” 

_That_ was certainly true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [the taste reminds you of BONES.]
> 
> reading my fic really be like [italics] [italics] [italics]
> 
> anyways, aside from the heavy bus ride home, this was a silly chapter that I greatly enjoyed writing!! 
> 
> ConCERNING the bus ride home- i find it interesting that player worked at corporate Joja before moving to Stardew and completely leaves that life behind when given the chance. Perfect opportunity to connect with Shane, though!!
> 
> Also learned (thanks wiki) that Linus and the Wizard are old friends????? STARDEW WHERE'S THE LORE???? WHERE IS IT!!!???


	9. Year 2, Winter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHAHAH so it turns out, the habit i'd made of playing video games in my free time instead of writing carried over from home to college. Darn. 
> 
> Warnings for this chapter: we get a little steamy today!!!! No explicit sex, but there is grinding, making out, and references to the act itself.

When winter rolled around, three things happened. 

Shane gratefully retreated into layers of shirts and hoodies and hats and scarves. 

Lee started disappearing for large chunks of time. 

And Sebastian started showing his face around town once more. 

All three events were pretty typical of the season. While the winter chill gave Shane an excuse to hide under more layers of clothes, it also killed any source of income for his farmer girl, forcing her deep into the mines to search for little treasures. The winter chill _also_ coaxed Sebastian out of his room- apparently, he preferred the colder temperatures as opposed to hot. 

Shane only knew that last bit of information because he kept running into Sebastian at the Saloon. 

Sebastian’s younger than him- not by much, but enough for him to make Shane feel old. Therefore, he fits in with the small crowd of young adults around town. From what Shane can see, he’s closest to Sam and Abigail- he sees them at the Saloon every Friday night, playing pool. 

One night, he ducked into the side room to hunker down by the arcade consoles- a habit he’d picked up while distracting himself from the desire to drink _one more one more_ until his head got all fuzzy- and the three had cornered him. 

Well, Sam and Abigail stood on either side of his perch on the barstool he’d pulled up in front of Prairie King, where Shane hoped to break his record. Sebastian stood a couple steps back, keeping an eye on them. 

“So, Shane, it’s time to spill the beans,” Abigail’s voice at his right catches his attention first, and Shane promptly gets stabbed by an incoming soldier. Abigail leaned her elbows on the console, blocking his view of the screen that flashed GAME OVER in bold text. 

“What do you mean?” Shane grunted as he adjusted his legs and kicked the feeling back into them. “About what?”

Sam rolled his eyes. “About _Lee_ , obviously.” He clarified. “You _are_ dating her, aren’t you?”

Somehow, Shane felt like he was being led into a trap. “Yes?” He answered slowly, hesitancy clear in his tone. 

“You’ve _got_ to tell us about her.” Abigail insisted. “What you guys do,” 

“How she treats you,” Sam added. “How you treat _her_ ,” 

“Do you guys kiss a lot?” Sebastian piped up- and Shane’s head whipped to the side to see dark eyes wide in honest curiosity. “Is she a _good_ kisser?”

“How does she fuck?” Abigail stacked yet another question onto the pile- but no more questions followed, since Sam and Sebastian (and Shane) all turned to glare at her. 

“What?!” She demanded, standing up straight and planting her hands on her hips. “I’m not going to pretend like I’m _not_ attracted to her- and you guys can’t either! I’m _curious!_ ”

Sam’s head tilted as he conceded, but Sebastian’s glare didn’t falter. 

“ _Anyways_ ,” Abigail ignored Sebastian, turning back to the man they’d originally cornered. “Start talking!!” 

Shane- obviously caught off guard and still processing everything that just happened- didn’t move an inch. 

“It’s called gossip, Shane,” Abigail informed him, tipping her chin up and raising an eyebrow in order to level the most unimpressed of unimpressed stares on him. “I know you spend most of your time avoiding talking to people, but you’re dating Lee now, so you’re going to have to get used to it.” 

Sam- clearly the mediator of the group- smoothed over Shane’s stunned silence with a chuckle. “What our dear, _forceful_ Abigail here means,” he explained, “Is that we would _love_ to hear any stories you have to tell about your relationship with Farmer Lee.”

“Alright,” Shane acquiesced- slowly, uncertainly, but clearly surprising them merely by agreeing. He searched his brain for relevant topics, thinking over things they’d done together so far, and landed on something he figured they’d like. “She made my Spirit’s Eve costume.” 

“I knew it!” Abigail crowed, punching the air in front of her. “You looked good, by the way,” she added. “You should dress up more often.” 

“No.” Shane immediately shot her down, unconsciously burrowing into his scarf. “It feels… weird. Like I’m… exposed.” 

Sebastian surprised him by nodding, agreeing with his verdict. 

“You both disappeared that night,” Sam remembered. “I saw you pass me in the maze, and then you were gone.” 

“We went back to her farm,” Shane explained- before the smirk curling Abigail’s lips could grow any wider. “Laid in the grass and stargazed for a while. Talked.”

“Kissed?” Sam supplied, grinning widely. 

Shane felt his cheeks heat up. “Sure.” 

“Is she as stacked as Abigail claims she is?” Sebastian piped up next. Shane turned to Abigail, a question lingering in his gaze, and Abigail lifted her hands defensively in front of her. 

“We happened to be at the Sauna at the same time, that’s all!” She assured him quickly, waving her hands back and forth. “Did _you_ know she has abs?” 

“Everyone _has_ abs, Abigail. No one is _missing_ abdominal muscles.” Sebastian deadpanned, unimpressed. 

“Yeah, I know.” Shane moved on, distracting Abigail from delivering what was clearly going to be a biting mark in return. “You can tell she’s strong just by hugging her. Not to mention watching her with an axe. Or a sword.” 

“That’s right!” Abigail cried, eyes wide in realization. “She’s in the mines all the time- she _must_ know how to use a sword. I should ask her for lessons,” she tacked onto the end, almost as an afterthought. 

“Who initiated the first kiss?” 

Every occupant of the room turned to the asker of the question, Sebastian, who scowled and buried his hands in his hoodie pockets at the attention. 

Shane took a moment to reply, too busy flashing back to the raucous stadium and the adrenaline rush of gathering her up into his arms to actually answer right away. 

“...I did.” He finally manages, heat surging to his face again. “I didn’t… _mean_ to. I was excited, and it just kind of… happened.” 

“What do you mean, you didn’t _mean to_ ,” Abigail demanded, “You didn’t _want_ to kiss her?”

“‘Course I did!” Shane balked, glaring at her. “I just meant for our first kiss to be… uh… _nicer_ , I guess. Something between just the two of us- where I would’ve had the time to actually ask her if she was okay with it.” 

Sam quirked a blond eyebrow in Shane’s direction. “Why wouldn’t she be okay with it? You’re dating, aren’t you?”

“Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam,” Abigail shook her head, placing a gentle hand on the taller man’s shoulder. “It’s _very_ polite to ask if you can kiss someone before you do it. Consent is important.”

Sam immediately went red and began spluttering in his own defense- things like, “of _course_ I know that,” and, “I just meant- _you know I didn’t mean it like that._ ”

“And on that note,” Abigail continued, turning away from her mortified friend. “Have you two fucked?”

“ _Abigail!!_ ” Sebastian hissed. Sam tilted his head back in exasperation, clearly all too used to Abigail never giving a fuck. 

Shane’s fists clenched, gripping the material of his hoodie tight between his fingers. “Not yet,” is what he settled on answering with for the time being. 

It was true, they hadn’t slept together. 

It wasn’t like the chemistry wasn’t _there_ \- they’d just never gotten around to it.

_Of course_ he’d thought about it- his girlfriend was fucking _hot_ , and he had _plenty_ of things to think about. It was just that… Shane wasn’t _exactly_ sure she’d like what she would find, should they get that far. 

So, maybe he didn’t _mind_ that they hadn’t gotten that far yet. 

If not for that, then _definitely_ so he wouldn’t have to answer what would surely be invasive follow-up questions from Abigail. 

\---

The Festival of Ice occurred right outside Marnie’s Ranch every year. 

Last year, Lee had absolutely _decimated_ the competition in the fishing contest- except Willy, who she’d only beaten by one fish- but this year…

“Now, with ice fishing, you don’t really cast the line,” Lee murmured, guiding his hands along the pole, “You really just drop the line into the water and wait.” 

_This_ year, she’d insisted on teaching him how to fish instead of competing. 

“When you feel a tug on the line, only reel it in a little. See if whatever’s there resists.” She continued instructing, resting her hand over his where he held the little crank that pulled the line back in. “You’ll be able to tell if what you’ve got is an actual _fish_ or not just by the resistance on the line.” 

“What’s the difference?” Shane wondered after pulling his fifth piece of algae off of his hook. 

“When fish pull, you’ll feel them fight.” His farmer girl nodded against his shoulder as he correctly hooked some bait on his hook and dropped the line back into the water. “Other things just weigh the line down.” 

She was right, of course. When Shane started reeling in his first live catch, it was a whole different joyride than the other, more inert catches. 

Lee helped him adjust the tension in the line as whatever he had on the other side of it struggled and tugged, desperately trying to free itself from the hook it had made the mistake of biting into. After some pulling and winding and reeling this thing in, a decent size Sunfish flopped onto the ice next to his feet. 

“Quick!” Lee cried, reaching for the bright orange scales, “Put it in the bucket!”

His first catch ended up flopping back into the water before it could be secured. 

Fish 1, Shane 0.

But, in the end, he really didn’t mind the waiting game that was fishing. 

Not when his farmer girl stayed wrapped around his waist for the entire Festival. 

\---

Sebastian invited them to his birthday party. 

Both of them.

Not the usual “an invitation for Lee and an optional +1,” but an honest to god, separate invitation with Shane's name on it. 

Shane wondered if Sebastian actually _liked him_ , or if he was just being polite.

\---

Sebastian’s birthday party ended up being a concert venue for the band he’d formed with Sam and Abigail. 

To his own surprise, Shane really liked the set they played. 

He made sure to tell Sebastian this, after their show was over and the three of them had come off-stage, and the younger man nodded his thanks.

Then, Sebastian paused- really paused, like his entire body stopped functioning for a moment- before he turned his attention fully onto Shane. 

“You… liked it?” He repeated, one of his eyes twitching into a squint. “Like, _really?_ ”

“Yeah,” Shane affirmed- kind of confused as to why Sebastian seemed he didn’t believe him. “Really enjoyed it. The stuff you did with the last song- the tracks in the background? Really nice touch.” 

Sebastian’s whole face contorted into what Shane could only categorize as _bewilderment_.

“What?” Shane demanded. “I listen to music, y’know.”

“Sure,” Sebastian responded, nodding jerkily, “But this stuff- it’s kind of experimental. Like, most of this genre doesn’t _sound_ like this.”

Shane made a motion with his hand, drawing out a beleaguered “and?” until Sebastian kept talking. 

“Most people that listen to our music like the _genre_ we play, but not like… the _music_ we make.” Sebastian explained. 

Shane continued to stare at him, waiting- for what, he did not know. Apparently Sebastian didn’t either, because he threw his hands in the air and sighed. 

“I just… don’t hear that a lot. That’s all.” The man dressed entirely in black finally admitted. “Thanks.” 

Shane nodded. “You’re welcome.” 

For the second time that night, Sebastian squinted at him.

“ _Now_ what,” Shane demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Nothing, you just…” Sebastian trailed off, reaching up to scratch at the back of his neck, “You just sound like her.” 

Shane didn’t have to wonder which _her_ Sebastian was referring to.

The two men turned and sought out Lee’s figure in the thinning crowd (it hadn’t been large to begin with), and found her talking to Abigail and Sam at the other end of the lot.

Lee smiled and beamed and laughed and generally radiated joy and light onto her willing onlookers, seemingly unaware of the admiring gazes sent her way. 

Though, she did turn and glance across the lot, searching out Shane and sending him a smile as well. 

Shane couldn’t say he wasn’t pleasantly warm despite the winter chill, at that moment.

\---

Like clockwork, Lee reappeared from her adventures off… wherever it was that she went… in time for the return of the Night Market. 

When Shane ran into her the first night- Jas in tow- he couldn’t help but notice that she looked _exhausted._

As was their general relationship dynamic, Shane immediately set to worrying over her. 

At this point, knowing both that she could handle herself just fine _and_ that she had a tendency to push herself past her limits, the worrying was mostly, _mostly_ , just for show, just to make her laugh. 

Jas knew the drill, at this point, and joined Shane in checking Lee for injuries- acting as “Uncle Shane’s Hypeman” while he fussed over his girlfriend. 

“You shouldn’t overwork yourself,” Shane hummed, brushing stray pieces of her hair back into place. 

“Yeah, Ms. Lee!” Jas echoed, mirroring Shane and straightening the corner of Lee’s shirt. “Don’t overwork yourself!” 

“You don’t have to come if you’re too tired,” Shane continued, wiping a smudge of dirt off of her cheek. 

“Yeah, Ms. Lee,” Jas piped up again, dusting sand off of Lee’s knees, “You can go to bed early if you need to!”

“I know,” Lee assured them- _clearly_ fighting back a smile. 

“Oh! Shane!” Jas announced, pointing one finger at Lee’s elbow. “Injury alert!”

Shane leaned over to inspect the mark on her elbow- rows of angry red lines that looked suspiciously like _teeth marks_ , something he’d have to ask her about later- and nodded to Jas.

“Good job, Jas.” He intoned. “Now, you know what this means,” he continued, tone solemn and serious.

“Junimo bandaids!!” Jas crowed, tugging at the zipper on Lee’s backpack where she _knew_ the themed first aid supplies were kept. Lee obediently bent her knees, allowing Jas to better reach into the pocket and search until her prize was secured. 

“You’re absolutely right, Jas,” Shane nodded proudly, kneeling next to her to hold Lee’s arm steady while Jas unpeeled bandaids left and right like a maniac, slapping them onto the cuts on Lee’s arm until no red marks were visible.

“Thank you, Doctor Jas,” Lee beamed as Jas zipped the bandaids back into her backpack. “What would I do without you?”

“Clearly,” Shane deadpanned, eyeing the mess of bandaids on her elbow, “You would not have survived the night.” 

“And we can’t have that!” Jas insisted. “Now, c’mon! Shane told me I could see the Mermaid Show this year!!” 

Jas grabbed their hands and tugged, pulling the two of them towards the glow of the lights strung up by the docks, illuminating the Night Market in the dark, winter night. 

\---

The second night of the Night Market, Lee showed up just as exhausted. 

Jas was off playing with Vincent, so Shane had time to walk over to the rocks by the shore and sit down with his farmer girl for a moment. 

Lee sighed as soon as she sat and discarded her backpack onto the ground with a muted _thump_ against the sand. 

“You know how the bus to Calico Desert got up and running again?”

She began speaking before Shane could even ask.

“Yeah?” 

“That’s where I’ve been.” She admitted. “Remember that weird looking key I found at the bottom of the mines in town?”

“Yeah?”

“Well,” she huffed, wiping sweat off of her forehead with her sleeve, “It opened a door in a cave in the Calico Desert. I found more mine shafts.”

“ _More?_ ” Shane repeated, surprised. “More monsters?”

The nod Lee replied with was heavy and tired. Her chin nearly touched her chest with the movement. 

“I’ve never seen any of them before, so I’m still getting used to fighting them.” She continued. “The bite marks from yesterday are from these… I can only think of the word _dragon_ to describe them,” came the confession, “But they’re fast and agile, and I _always always always_ swing too late, and,” she twisted her body to inspect her elbow, which was now properly bandaged. “They always get me, somehow.” 

“Be careful, please,” Shane whispered. It’s the only thing he could ever ask of her. 

_Come back to me._

“In other news,” she added, propping her weight up on her non-bandaged arm, “I’m going to have to start making more explosives.” 

“ _Why?_ ” 

Lee laughed, amused as always with his bewildered reactions to her wild stories. 

“There are these _mummy_ things,” she began to explain,

and the rest of the night washed away in sea salt air, the sound of the waves against the shore, and Lee’s monster stories.

\---

The third night- well, it wasn’t even nighttime when Lee knocked on his door. It was like… 4pm.

“I quit early, today,” she announced, collapsing onto the beanbag that sat in front of his TV. “Figured I’d hang out with my favorite person instead of fighting off monsters until I have to run home for a late night at the Night Market.” 

“Sounds like a plan,” Shane agreed, pleased with the casual _favorite person_ comment. “Did you wanna do anything or just lay there? Either’s fine with me.” 

Lee slung her arm over her face and made a noncommittal noise into her elbow. “Would it be too much to ask to get drunk and play video games with you?”

Shane couldn’t help but grin. “Not at all. Lemme grab you a drink.” 

\---

Two hours later, the sun was setting (ah, winter, so little daytime…), and the two of them had finished off exactly one bottle of wine and two levels of Prairie King. 

Lee bit off a curse as her player ran straight into a soldier, the pixelated cowboy blinking rapidly before disappearing altogether as she lost a life. 

“Your aim isn’t as good when you’re tipsy,” Shane noted absently, taking another sip of wine. They’d opened another bottle after deciding that they were officially skipping the Night Market that night. 

“How come you’re still shooting fine?!” Lee demanded, waving her controller around in protest. “You’ve had just as much as me!” 

“You forget, I spent a good chunk of time not only building up a tolerance to alcohol, but also playing this game while intoxicated.” Shane reminded her, eyes on the screen while he shot down lines of approaching soldiers.

“So you’re not drunk?” Lee demanded, turning to stare at him- and consequently losing another life.

“I’m tipsy,” Shane corrected her, familiar with the floaty feeling in his limbs and the comfortable buzz in his head. “I don’t start sucking at this game until I’m solidly sloshed.” He informed her. “ _Unlike you,_ apparently,” he added, grinning to himself. 

Lee made an offended noise and did her best to elbow him and still play- which didn’t affect Shane at all, and cost Lee her final life.

Now completely useless, left to just watch Shane play, Lee plotted her revenge. 

Shane couldn’t help but notice that his girlfriend was being unusually quiet, but he was focused on the game- and looking away was probably what she wanted from him, so he’d lose a life as well, and he wasn’t going to give in to her.

His theory was proven correct when she stuck her head in the way of his view of the screen, mischief glittering in her eyes. 

“Hey!” Shane shouted, craning his neck to see around her, “That’s cheating!” 

“Not so good _now_ , huh?” Lee crowed, pleased to watch him struggle. Shane leaned his whole body left and right- and she followed, doing her best to make surviving hard for him. 

She scored her first victory when he ran into a soldier that her shoulder blocked the view of, and her second when he leaned too far over and fell, getting him killed as he took his eyes completely off the screen. 

After pulling himself into the correct upright position, Shane was determined not to lose his last life. 

His winning strategy ended up being to wrap his arms around her, the controller behind her back, and tuck her head under his chin so he could see the screen without her in the way. His sudden proximity to her must’ve taken her by surprise- or, more likely, she was content to lean against him while he held her to his chest. 

Either way, she didn’t move.

That is, until he beat the level they had been working on. 

As soon as LEVEL 3 popped up on the screen, Lee pushed forwards and knocked him back onto his butt. She scooted over top of him, grinning like a madman, took his face in his hands, and kissed him solidly on the lips. 

Now it was _Shane’s_ turn to be surprised. 

He heard the telltale signs of his character getting hit and destroyed, but he couldn’t bring himself to care- not when Lee was kissing him so fervently, sliding one hand around the back of his head to tangle in his hair, holding him to her, taking the breath right out of his lungs. 

The controller in his hands dropped to the ground, immediately discarded in favor of bringing his hands to her sides, anchoring himself against her. 

She pressed kiss after kiss after kiss to his mouth, breathing hot against his lips every time she pulled away. He couldn’t help but reciprocate, leaning into her touches, gripping her sides like a lifeline, skating one hand up her back to steady her as she swayed, eagerly accepting every press of her mouth against his. 

There wasn’t a moment’s hesitation in his body when she swiped her tongue against his lips. Immediately, his jaw dropped open, lips parted to invite her inside- _whatever you want from me, take it._

And boy, did she _take_. 

Lee _devoured_ him like a man starved, twining her tongue in his, tracing the edges of his teeth, the roof of his mouth, the flex of his tongue against hers. Shane’s head spun, his senses wildly out of control while Lee took up his undivided attention. 

When she finally pulled away, lips red and swollen, cheeks pinked, eyes sparkling, she murmured, “ _gotcha_ ,” into the air between them. 

Shane managed to collect enough of his scattered brain cells to twist his face into a pout, but she ducked to kiss it off of him before he could think about it for too long. 

Around the time when her hands draped over his shoulders, letting her fingers toy with the neckline of his shirt, Shane finally built up the courage to lick against the seam of _her_ lips, hesitantly requesting entrance himself. 

He wasn't sure why he was _surprised_ when she let him lap into her mouth without fighting him, but he didn’t question it much beyond that. He was too busy tasting _Lee Lee Lee_ to think about anything else. 

That is, until he licked a path across her jaw and planted a messy kiss just beneath her ear and she _moaned_. 

It rumbled out of her throat before she could stop it, and- if the _moan_ wasn’t enough to scatter his last few brain cells- her fingers curled and she dragged her nails against the back of Shane’s neck. 

Completely on instinct, Shane’s grip on her sides shifted to her hips, and he yanked her forwards, planting her directly in his lap with a low grunt of satisfaction. 

Shane lifted his head enough to bring his lips to her cheek, and while he didn’t mean to breathe so hotly against her skin, he still had to ask, “Is this…?”

Before he could even finish his sentence, Lee shuddered _hard_ , practically vibrating in his arms, and locked her arms around his neck.

“ _Shane,_ ” his name spilled from her lips, low and heady like he’d never heard it before.

And you know what? That was enough to convince him. 

He bent back down to kiss at her neck, licking and sucking until he found spots that made her voice slip free- or better yet, made her hips jump in his lap. 

With his hands locked onto her hips, he could easily push and pull her, guide her erratic motions until she was grinding into his lap, her movements encouraged by the soft grunts she could pull out of him, small noises that would puff against her skin while he explored. 

Of course, she took it upon herself to explore right back, and Shane jumped when her arms unlocked from around his shoulders and her hands slid down his chest- trailing wide swaths of heat over skin still covered by clothes, down down down until she found the hem of his shirt and the waistband of his pants.

For a second, he was _sure_ she was going to start tugging at his pants, but she changed course at the last second and slid warm hands under his shirt. 

“Lee,” he grumbled against her collarbone, already feeling his self-consciousness beginning to rear its ugly head, “Just- I know I’m not-”

“Shhh,” Lee hushed him as her palms skated over the soft give of his stomach. She turned to kiss his ear (the only thing she could reach) and squeezed his hips in her hands. “You have no _idea_ how much I want you.” 

Shane couldn’t help the white-hot bolt of heat that raced through him at her confession. It came as no surprise to him when his dick twitched in his pants, eagerly responding to her desire.

“I- I want you too,” he stammered, lifting his head enough to look into her eyes. He felt like one confession deserved another- especially one of that caliber. “A lot. Like, _a lot_.” 

“A lot?” Lee teased, echoing him as she trailed her fingers up his back. 

“A lot,” Shane confirmed, nodding like an idiot. “So much.” 

“So much,” Lee echoed contemplatively, tracing his ribs around his sides until her palms laid against his chest. “What do you want?” She wondered, eyes half-lidded while she gazed down at where her knuckles tented his shirt. 

“ _You_ ,” Shane blurted, unable to stop himself. The brain cells were gone. There was no considering answers before he spoke them aloud anymore. “You, any way, _every_ way,” he rambled, unconsciously squeezing her hips.

Lee’s head dropped to his shoulder, and her hips kicked forward into his, spurred on by his grip on her sides. 

“Fuck,” Shane murmured, squeezing her again. She was so _warm_ against him- and the friction against the steadily growing tent in his pants was _definitely_ welcomed. “What do _you_ want?” He wondered, slipping his fingers under the hem of her shirt to trace the jut of her hipbones with his thumbs.

“I want to be pinned underneath you,” she breathed out, all at once.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Shane whispered back- and it was _his_ turn to grind against her, his hips kicking up to meet hers. She gratefully ground down against him, breathing out a soft groan into his shoulder. 

“Shit- wait,” she changed her mind, thunking her head against him, “I also want to ride you.”

“Yeah?” Was all Shane could think to say in return, too occupied by how unbelievably fucking _soft_ her skin was under his fingers. He couldn’t stop _touching her_ , now that he’d ventured under her sweater, and the flex of her muscles against his hands was _not_ helping his rapidly growing desire. 

“Think you’d look nice underneath me, helpless to do anything but _feel_ \- I’d take care of you, make it last, if I could,” she was rambling, jumping from sentence to sentence before he could connect the dots- but he didn’t mind much, not when she was a flurry of movement against him, swiveling her hips _just right_ against the heat in his pants, fingers clenching and unclenching against his chest, dragging her nails across his skin every so often, sparking wild thrills of pleasure down his spine with every rock of her hips, and-

“Hey, Shane, when are we leaving??” 

Jas’s voice nearly didn’t register at all in his clouded brain. She was a little far off- probably yelling at him from the kitchen, like Marnie did, so he could barely hear her in the first place. 

But as soon as the words clicked, he froze, stilling completely- despite Lee still fervently moving. 

“I’m- I’m not going tonight,” he shouted back- giving Lee some pause, but not actually stopping her. “Tired.” 

“You’re no fun!!” Jas insisted. “I’ll just go with Vincent, then!” 

“Okay-” Shane choked around the word at a particularly lovely grind of Lee’s hips against his. “Have fun!” 

The distant _slam_ of the front door shutting, then…

Silence. 

“Shane,” Lee whined, unhappy with his complete pause in action. “ _Shaaaaaane,_ ” 

“Lee,” Shane whispered back, forcibly scooting her back with a tight grip on her hips, putting some distance between them so he could actually _think_. Lee squirmed in his grip, but she didn’t break free (even though she probably could, if she wanted to). 

“We should probably save this for… another night.” Shane finally decided. 

The words were slow and heavy as they fell from his lips- he didn’t _want_ to suggest such a thing, _god no_ , he wanted everything Lee had painted pictures of in his mind and _more_ \- 

But… 

“You’re drunk.” Shane insisted, keeping her a solid arm’s distance away. “We shouldn’t do this. Not tonight.” 

“Promise I’ll still want you when I’m not drunk,” Lee insisted. “Promise.” 

“I’m sure you will,” Shane assured her- resisting the urge to let go and pat her head only because he knew if he let go, she’d shimmy back onto his lap in a heartbeat. “I’m just saying… I want you to remember this.” 

Lee squawked in mock outrage. “I am _not_ that drunk!” She insisted. 

Shane couldn’t help but smile in response. “I know you aren’t. Just a precaution,” he promised. “Plus, _my_ momma taught me that sleeping with drunk girls is a _big_ no no,” he lowered his voice to tease her, leaning in close enough to brush noses with her. “And I _listen_ to my momma.”

Lee let out a long sigh (accompanied by a large, dramatic eye roll), and bonked her forehead against his before leaning to rest there. “Your momma’s right.” 

Shane couldn’t help the victorious twist of his lips. He let the smirk slide, considering Lee couldn’t see it anyways. “I know.”

Finally giving in, Lee let out the tension in her shoulders and slumped over herself, her eyelids beginning to droop as the buzz of lust and desire fizzled out of her system. 

“But,” Shane spoke up, tossing an idea back and forth with what little of the brain cells he’d recovered so far, “I could make a compromise.”

Lee perked up at that, sitting up with an interested gleam in her eyes. 

“Instead of walking you all the way home, you could just stay the night.” He offered. “I’ll just leave Marnie a note on the front counter.” 

“I thought you said your momma said not to sleep with drunk girls?” Lee remembered with a (fake) glare of accusation and betrayal in his direction. 

“I’m pretty sure you know _exactly_ what kind of sleeping my momma meant.” Shane shot back. 

_That farmer girl, always keeping him on his toes…_

He had to admit, his compromise was a _good_ one. As much as his dick mourned the loss of what could’ve been, Shane was content to drift off with his farmer girl bundled in his blankets, tucked safe in his arms. 

(And what happened in the morning when Marnie’s roosters woke them both from a peaceful slumber, the buzz of alcohol gone and the dredges of last night’s frantic desire still lingering in the air between them? Well, that stayed between Shane and his farmer girl.)

\---

When the Feast of the Winter Star started to loom on the horizon, Shane got a letter in the mail from Mayor Lewis. 

_Your secret santa assignment this year is: Abigail!_

“What. The fuck.” 

“Shane!! Language!!!!” Marnie hissed- as if it wasn’t just the two of them and the chickens in the coop that morning. 

“What am I supposed to get _Abigail??_ ” Shane demanded. “The only thing I know about her is that she likes pumpkins and my girlfriend. Pumpkins are out of season- and I am _not giving her my girlfriend!!_ ” 

Marnie’s answer to his concerns consisted of a single facepalm and a shake of her head. 

\---

What ended up happening at the Feast of the Winter Star was this:

Lee’s secret santa was Linus, and she was very happy with the Maki Rolls he wrapped up for her.

Jas presented Shane with an origami chicken that she’d folded herself. Shane promised her that he’d put it on display in his room somewhere and that he would never lose it. 

Shane shuffled up to Abigail with the confidence of a man that had no options left but to go forwards. 

“Oh,” Abigail hummed as she registered Shane’s presence across from her. “Are you my secret santa this year?” 

Shane nodded.

_God, he really hoped this worked out._

“I didn’t know what to get you,” he admitted as he dug around in his pockets, “But I figured you’d like this.” 

What he extended in her direction was a single piece of paper, about the size of a business card, scrawled upon in his terrible handwriting. 

With the look of someone who thought they might have been presented a rattlesnake, Abigail tentatively took the paper from between his gloved fingers. Squinting down at the writing, she turned the card this way and that until she finally deciphered what it said.

_Upon presentation, this card is good for one (1) question asked of Shane, about Lee, at any time._

Slowly, Abigail nodded to herself, pleased with the gift. 

“I do have one question- not one that I need to use this for, though,” she piped up after a contemplative silence- pinning Shane in place right before he’d made a strategic retreat. 

Caught, Shane cringed but dutifully turned back around. “And that is…?” 

Abigail looked him dead in the eye, never a single fuck to give, and asked, point-blank, regardless of the people around them:

“Have you two fucked yet?” 

Her poor mother choked on her pie, and her father just shook his head, still spooning cranberry sauce onto his plate as if he were _pointedly_ ignoring his daughter’s lack of grace. 

On the other hand, Shane’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor. “I- _Abigail_ , you can’t just-” 

“Well?” Abigail demanded, planting her hands on her hips. “ _Have_ you?” 

“ _Abigail,_ ” Shane hissed, covering his face with his hands to try and hide the absolutely fantastic shade of red his face was trying to turn. 

“You can just say no, if that’s the case,” Abigail assured him.

But he didn’t say no. 

And the longer they stood there in silence- Shane wishing, for the first time in a long time, that he would just drop dead on the spot- the higher Abigail’s eyebrows rose above her eyes. 

“Well, in that case,” she hummed, “I would like to use this now.” She informed him, holding out the card he’d _just_ presented to her. 

Completely defeated (and probably steaming in the freezing winter air), Shane slumped over himself. 

“Can this wait until we’re _not_ in the middle of a family event,” he wondered tonelessly, muffled through his gloves. 

Abigail was silent for a moment, perhaps _finally_ taking note of their surroundings, and eventually agreed. 

“Tomorrow, the graveyard, 6:00 PM _sharp_.” 

\---

Shane _stays_ that shade of red for the rest of the feast.

Lee laughs at him for the rest of the feast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want it known that I am fully capable of writing explicit sex scenes. I just figured that, for once in my life, I could go non-horny with the fic I was writing. Nice job, iri, keepin it M-rated. Barely.
> 
> IF YOU GUYS SO DESIRED, there could be an explicit sex scene or two. posted separately. A shameful side note to this wholesome story. 
> 
> Also, one of my main motivators for finishing this chapter was that I've been haunted by the desire to write My Time at Portia fic, and starting a new player-insert fic while this one wasn't finished felt like betrayal O_O


	10. Year 3, Spring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :):):):) i am absolutely fueled by you guys' comments. I love uuuu
> 
> This chapter = magic time

Come springtime, Shane turns another year older. 

And he comes to realize, amidst the party Marnie throws for him, that his farmer girl has absolutely _changed his life_. 

Two years ago, he was suicidal, despondent, and alone. The only person that could get anywhere close to him was Jas, and she was too young for Shane to actually confide in. 

Now, there were _people_ at his birthday party. 

_Friends_ , maybe. 

Could he call them friends??

Sebastian and his crew showed up, as did Elliot (and Leah, though Shane thinks Marnie only invited her because she’s so close by that she would’ve noticed the party being thrown regardless), and, of course, Lee is there to put a smile on his face at every twist and turn. 

After the cake had been cut and Shane had opened all of his presents (and, most importantly, the _wine_ ran out), their guests started saying their goodbyes and heading back to their regularly scheduled days. 

Which left Shane full and satisfied, slouched in the beanbag chair in front of his TV with Lee nestled in his lap. 

He tells her, then, about how drastically his life has changed, about how powerful an influence she’s been on his life. 

Lee takes the compliments in stride, but what she hits him with after he’s done talking really sends him straight into orbit. 

“I didn’t really do much, y’know. You made all of those decisions to turn your life around on your own. You put all the work in. I just cheered you on from the sidelines.” 

She’s right.

And it’s crazy to him that he’s… he’s _accomplished_ something in his life. He’s really and truly _improved_ his state of being, so much so that even his anxiety can’t convince him otherwise. 

“Well,” he finally concedes, spinning back down to earth with a grounding squeeze of her waist in his arms, “I landed a damn cute cheerleader, somehow.” 

“ _Damn_ right you did,” Lee giggles back.

\---

Late spring, Lee comes back from a trip to Calico Desert with an odd trinket. 

“Is- is that a Rabbit’s Foot?” Shane wondered, staring down at the fuzzy white thing in his girlfriend’s palm. “Those are supposed to be _super_ lucky, you know,” he recalled, touching the corner of it with his pinky as if it might dissolve under his touch. 

“I… I…” Lee stares and stares and stares at the thing as if she’s holding a million dollars. “I finally found one. This is the last thing. This is it.” She mumbles, mostly to herself.

She’d snagged him right outside JojaMart, looking for all the world like she’d sprinted all the way there. He’d asked what was up, and she’d said it was urgent, and then she’d dug _this_ out of her bag. 

“Come with me.” She starts off without waiting for him, and Shane has to scramble to catch up with her as she power walks back into town. 

He’s not certain where she’s headed, exactly, since she turns before they reach the General Store, and he knows that beyond this, into the mountains, Robin’s shop is closed. 

But she’s not heading to a shop. 

She leads him to the old, broken down Community Center. 

“Okay,” she lets out a breath when they stop in front of the doors- just one breath, as opposed to Shane, who’s panting beside her. “You’ve got to promise not to freak out.” 

Shane looks up at her from where he’s bent over himself and raises an eyebrow. “There’s literally nothing you can say that will faze me anymore.” He promises her. 

That, at least, gets a smile out of her. (She’s oddly serious right now, and he can’t figure out _why._ )

“It’s not what I’ll _say_. It’s what you’ll _see_.” 

The clarification is cryptic in itself. 

“Well, uh,” Shane flushes what he’s sure is a bright red, “I don’t know if you _remember_ , but there’s not much of you that I _haven’t_ seen, yet,” he reminds her.

_That_ gets a laugh out of her, and Lee gives up on trying to explain. 

“Just… follow me.” She settles on saying as she reaches for the door handle. “And _don’t freak out._ ” 

Shane shrugs and follows her inside. 

The main room inside is as musty and drafty as he expected it to be. There’s ivy growing through the walls and floorboards, and the windows are smashed to pieces. 

But, as he follows her down a hallway, he gets a peek into one of the offshooting rooms, and-

“ _Woah!_ Lee! Have you been renovating this place all on your own?” Shane yelps, catching a glimpse of what is _clearly_ new carpet and upgraded furnishings in what _must_ be an office in the room nearby. 

Lee shakes her head. “Not by myself, no.”

“Who’s been helping you out?” Shane wondered aloud. “Has Lewis been funding this?” 

“Lewis knows I’m working on the place, but he doesn't know what progress I’ve made yet.” 

“Then- then _who?_ ” 

Lee looks at him, then looks down at the Rabbit’s Foot in her hand. 

“Don’t freak out.” She says one last time before she turns towards an old bulletin board and taps one knuckle against it. 

“Hey guys,” suddenly, Lee projects her voice, loud enough to echo against the far walls and bounce back to them. “I’ve got the last thing! It was a Rabbit’s Foot, right?” 

For a moment, Shane thinks his girlfriend has finally gone crazy. 

Then, he hears it. 

Squeaking. 

It’s… it’s definitely squeaking. But not like the sound mice and bats make. It’s more of a chirp, a melodic chime that’s definitely coming from a living being. 

“You’re _sure_ it’s the Rabbit’s Foot,” Lee repeats, shaking the thing in her hand. “Let’s not have a repeat of our Pufferfish miscommunication, shall we?”

“Lee,” Shane speaks up- much calmer than he’d expected his voice to sound. “What the fuck.”

Almost as soon as he speaks, the chirping noises stop.

It’s actually quite spooky, how quickly the sounds of life cut off at a moment’s notice, leaving the creaky halls feeling eerily empty once more. 

“What the fuck,” Shane repeats, looking around like he might be able to spot the source of the noise. 

Lee’s hand on his shoulder settles him a little- and a low, “ _I told you not to freak out,_ ” reminds him of his promise. The promise he didn’t really _make_ , but the promise implicit upon Lee bringing him in here. 

“Why don’t you guys come out?” Lee calls into the nothingness again. She sounds gentle, coaxing, like she’s trying to convince a scared animal to calm down in her presence. 

For a moment, all Shane hears is the creaking of the old Community Center. 

Then, one… small… single… _bip!_

Lee’s entire posture changes. 

She switches from gently coaxing to exasperation in an _instant_. 

“You don’t _want to?!_ ” She groans, rubbing the palms of her hands over her eyes as if she’s already getting a headache. “You literally _begged_ me to bring him last week. _Now_ you don’t _want to?!_ ”

“You can understand… it?” Shane hesitated to speak, worried he’d scare… whatever it was… off again. 

“Yes.” Lee answers, short and simple. She must sense his next question ( _how??_ ) arising, because she answers it before it leaves his lips. “The wizard that lives in the forest gave me a potion- that I’m pretty sure had hallucinogenic mushrooms in it, considering the fucking _trip_ I took- and now I can understand them.” 

There’s a lot to unpack in that sentence. Shane figures he’ll ask about that later. 

From… _somewhere_ , another chorus of chirps and squeaks arise. 

Lee hangs her head and sighs. “They’re nervous.” She explains. “Like a lot of the creatures that live around here, they’ve not had many _good_ experiences with humans. They’re afraid of you.” 

Shane doesn’t really know what to say to that. Especially since he doesn’t know what _they_ are.

“Should I be afraid of them?” He wonders. “Because some of these _creatures_ you talk about have definitely almost killed you.” 

Lee actually laughs at the question. “ _No_ ,” she huffs, “No, they won’t hurt you. I don’t actually think that they _can_. They’re quite small.” 

There is a _lot_ of chirruping backlash to that statement, and Lee breaks down into more peals of laughter. 

“Okay, okay, _fine_ \- they can defend themselves, if it comes down to it. But they’re not looking to harm you.” She revises her statement- and it seems to placate the chattering in the walls. Shane supposes that the sounds they make _do_ sound like they belong to small creatures- which would have every reason to be afraid of him, in that case.

Okay.

_Okay_.

Well, honestly, Shane has done weirder things in his life, so, here goes nothing.

Shane steps out into the main room, where his voice echoes the loudest. “I’m Shane. I’m really out of shape and I don’t know how to use any kind of weapon, so Lee is much more dangerous than I am. I think the worst I could do is sit on you.” 

Lee snorts. “You’re not wrong.” 

There’s a lot of muffled squeaking, as if there’s a debate going on behind closed doors. 

After a couple of little voices pipe up, Shane turns to Lee to hear the verdict. 

“They want to know what your relation is to me.” She informs him. 

Shane feels his cheeks pink again. “We’re dating. I’m her boyfriend.” 

There is a _lot_ of feedback on that, and Shane shrinks into himself, embarrassed.

“Whoa now, whoa now, hold on, settle down,” Lee waves her hands around, quieting the peanut gallery. “First of all, we have _talked about this._ Second of all, what do you _mean_ you don’t understand? Which word? Which word don’t you understand?” 

Lee shifts her weight to one foot while she listens to the responding chatter, and when she lifts her eyes to Shane again she finds him waiting for translation. 

“Not everything translates directly into their language,” she explains, “So I do a lot of explaining and use a lot of synonyms. You can imagine the trouble I had when they wanted a Pufferfish but didn’t know the word for it.”

_Ah. That explains the earlier outburst._

“No, no no no no,” Lee wags her finger at nothing, talking to the creatures again. “We _talked_ about this. Remember?” She demands. There’s lots of chirping and squeaking, and she sighs once again. “Jeez, what was that absolutely _archaic_ word you used for it? Uh….” 

She trails off, tapping her chin and wracking her brain until one loud _beep!_ choruses above the rest. 

“Yes,” Lee agrees, nodding, “ _Courting_. Yes. We’re _courting_.” 

“ _Courting?_ ” Shane whispers back. Lee just rolls her eyes. 

“So, do you want to meet him, or not?” Lee demands. “Also, do you want this Rabbit’s Foot or not?”

There’s a pause, long enough for Shane to let out a shallow breath, and then, right the fuck in front of him, so obvious he can’t deny seeing it, a little ball of white just _pops_ into existence. 

It bounces across the floor on two legs, barely big enough to hold in one hand, and skitters right past him- heading straight for Lee. 

Shane just _stares_ while she kneels to meet it and hands it the Rabbit’s Foot. 

It holds the foot over its head, looks between Lee and Shane, and skitters into the odd little hut by the fireplace in the corner of the main room.

“It- was that- Lee, _was that a fucking Junimo?_ ” The words tumble out of him all at once, pushing past each other as if it’s a race to get out of his mouth first. “Did I _see_ that right?” 

“Just wait a second.” Lee looks entirely unimpressed- but not with him, he finds out. 

There’s a triumphant _squeak!_ from within the hut, and the little white Junimo peers out of the entrance to stare at Shane. 

All at once, three more Junimo pop into existence. 

Then six more. 

Then ten more.

And before he can actually register how many Junimo there are, the whole room is full of them, bouncing up and down in a floaty kind of way, as if gravity didn’t properly affect them. Maybe a hundred of them, all different colors, red, pink, blue, green, yellow-

“Just like in Jas’s coloring books.” Is all he can manage to say.

Lee nods, smiling in the way she does when he’s done something cute but kind of stupid- and Shane kind of agrees with her on this one. 

Some of the Junimo crowd around his feet, inspecting him, and others crowd around Lee, chirping and squeaking and bouncing.

“Yes, I know this was the last item you needed,” Lee responds to something Shane hadn’t understood, “That’s why I ran right over here when I got it.” 

More squeaking. 

“Right now?” Lee hums, eyebrows shooting high in surprise. “Okay, sure! I’d love to watch you work. Where should we sit?” 

A couple blue Junimos corral Lee and Shane back into the hallway, situating them just outside the threshold of the main room. 

“The Junimos have been helping me renovate.” Lee finally informs him. “I bring them what they ask for, and they work their magic for me in return.” 

“That’s very nice of them,” Shane notes, looking around at the gathering Junimo.

“They feel bad for letting this place fall into disrepair,” she explained. “The town thought it was haunted after they moved in, so renovations kept getting put off, and the building kept getting worse and worse. When they realized I could understand them, we struck up a deal.” 

The squeaking and chirping rises until all of the Junimo are squeaking in time with each other, and the main room begins to glow. Beneath what must be the haze of their magic, Shane sees the floorboards beginning to repair themselves, see the ivy shrink back out of sight, sees the windowpane reform.

“They’re forest spirits,” Lee continues, “And I don’t know exactly what brought them to move in here, but, when I met them, they couldn’t leave this place.” A pause, then, “I think that’s what all the requests are for. They’re probably ingredients or something to replenish their power in some way.”

“And the Rabbit’s Foot was the last one?” Shane recalls, and Lee nods in approval. “So… what now?” He wonders.

“What now, indeed,” Lee muses, watching the last of the glow fade away.

The main room is now _furnished_ , which absolutely blows Shane’s mind.

“Your hut,” Lee notices immediately- and Shane’s eyes cut to the fireplace to confirm that, yes, the hut that the white one had skittered into was gone. 

Lots of chirping. 

“ _What?_ ” Lee cries out, actually shocked. “You’re… you’re leaving?” 

More beeping and squeaking. 

“I mean- I’m _glad_ for you, that you can finally go back home,” she assures them as she sinks to her knees. The Junimos crowd around her, piling on top of each other as they scramble to be close to her. “I just… I’ve grown fond of you. We’re friends now, right?” 

The Junimos bounce and chirrup in what even Shane can tell is a resounding _yes_. 

“Okay, okay,” Lee laughs, but Shane can hear the warble in her voice. “Just… take care of yourselves, okay? And come find me if you need help. Or if you want to visit. Or if you miss me. Because- because I’ll miss you.” 

The Junimos’ cries pitch up even higher when Lee starts crying, and the gentle bouncing of the crowd around her turns into frantic vibrations. 

Shane kneels down behind her, causing a couple Junimo to scramble out of the way, and Lee gratefully sinks into the hug he offers. 

“I- yes, I’ll be okay,” Lee promises them, petting over a couple of their little heads (bodies???) with one hand. “You all get going, now! Aren’t you excited to go home?”

The flurry of what are very clearly cheers from the crowd of little round creatures makes a clear _yes_. 

“Alright,” Lee nods, wiping her face with the back of her hand. “Goodbye, then.” 

There’s a chorus of chirrups that Shane doesn’t need a translator for, and then, in a flash of light, they’re gone.

All of them. 

The Community Center is eerily quiet, now. No drafts of air, no leaking pipes, no skittering creature sounds or squeaks of Junimos. 

Lee cries in Shane’s arms where he’s curled around her in the middle of the newly furnished room until she runs out of tears to cry. 

“It’s so empty without them,” she chokes out at one point. “What was the point in fixing it at all?”

Shane doesn’t really have an answer to that, so he just hugs her tighter until her shudders calm down.

When Lee gets back on her feet again, she writes out a letter with news of the completed Community Center and deposits it in Mayor Lewis’s mailbox with a long sigh.

Shane spends the night at her place and strokes her hair until she falls asleep.

\---

They wake up to insistent knocking at the front door early the next morning. 

“Farmer Lee! Farmer Lee!!” 

When Shane opens the door, groggy and grumpy and still in his pajamas, it’s safe to say that Mayor Lewis is taken off guard. 

For the first couple seconds after Shane opens the door, Lewis just _stares_ at him. 

“ _What,_ ” Shane demands. It’s too early for him to pretend to be cordial, and he’s not happy about being torn away from his farmer girl where she looks so goddamn _cute_ curled up in bed. 

“I- I was expecting to speak to Farmer Lee.” Lewis finally says. 

Shane feels his eye twitch. It’s _also_ too early in the morning for him to censor himself. 

“Well, you got _me_. What do you want, Mayor Lewis.” He intones, impatiently crossing his arms over his chest.

“I- well, first of all, I didn’t know things were this serious between you and Farmer Lee,” Lewis begins- and that’s where Shane snaps. 

“Don’t- _don’t_ act like she’s that fucking far out of my league, because she’s _not_. She’s perfect, and she loves me, and that’s enough for me- so why isn’t it enough for you, huh?” Shane barks out, absolutely fed up with the murmurs he hears from the neighbors that _still_ think Lee is dating him out of pity. “ _I_ didn’t even ask her out. She asked _me_ out. _And_ , despite being apparently _so far out of my league_ , Lee has _always_ been proud to say that we’re dating and she’s never _once_ denied it or kept it a secret. Which is _more_ than I can say for you, old man.” 

Lewis’s jaw drops, and Shane thinks he sees a little bit of righteous fury seep into the man’s eyes. 

“I don’t like what you’re insinuating-”

“Oh, I bet you don’t,” Shane snapped, taking a _bold_ step in the Mayor’s direction. “Because you have no right to be coming after _my_ relationship when you can't even _own up_ to yours.” Lewis’s eyes went wide, and Shane nodded. “Aunt Marn might be okay settling for your hush hush affair, but don’t expect a lick of respect from me until she’s worth more to you than some stupid job title in a town where no one has run against you for Mayor in twenty years.”

Absolutely dumbfounded- as he should be- all Mayor Lewis could manage to do in response was open and close his mouth like a fish out of water. 

From behind him, Shane heard a stifled yawn. 

“Hey, Mr. Mayor,” Lee hummed, wrapping her arms around Shane’s waist and peering out from behind him. “What brings you to my doorstep this lovely morning?” 

Lewis looked at Lee, then at Shane, then back to Lee, cleared his throat, straightened his hat, and gathered himself once more. 

“I got your letter about the Community Center and stopped by this morning. It looks wonderful! You’ve clearly put a lot of work into the place over the years that you’ve been here with us!” Lewis regains himself again and sings Lee’s praises, and Shane lets out a little _harrumph_. Lee pinches him in the side. 

“We’d like to thank you for all of your hard work,” Lewis informs her, “So the town is throwing a reopening ceremony in your honor. We’d like you to come!” 

Shane felt Lee’s jaw drop where she was resting her cheek against his shoulder. “Really?” 

“Of course!” Lewis cried. “It’s thanks to you that a cornerstone of our community has been restored after all this time, after all.” 

“I- okay!” Lee agreed, beaming. “I’ll get ready right away!” 

Lewis left with the pep in his step restored- likely thanks to Lee’s sunny disposition- and Lee closed the door with a decisive _thunk_.

Shane had fully expected her to dash off to her room to start getting ready, but, instead, she pressed her hands to his shoulders and pushed him up against the door she had just closed.

“I’m proud of you for standing up for yourself.” She informs him. “And you’re absolutely correct, I _do_ love you, and I am proud to say that we’re dating.”

Still a little sleepy and not quite on the same wavelength, Shane merely smiles and bends to press a kiss to her lips. “I’m glad,” he murmurs amidst a sleepy smile. 

Lee lets him kiss her, but she presses a finger to his chin to press him back against the wall when he’s done. _Now_ he’s beginning to suspect something’s up.

“What,” Shane hums, certain that he’s missing something, somewhere. 

Lee does not hesitate to hand over the truth. “That was really hot.” 

Shane’s eyebrows shoot towards the ceiling. “It _was?_ ” He echoes. Lee merely nods. “You think me getting angry was _hot?_ ” 

“ _No_ ,” Lee pokes him in the nose, “I just like the Shane that doesn’t take any shit about the people he loves. He’s very confident and he stands up straight and he protects the people he cares about and tears anyone who threatens them to shreds.” 

“Oh,” Shane comes to a quick realization, akin to a lightbulb flashing over his head. “Aunt Marn calls that ‘Papa Bear Shane’. I do that for Jas a lot.” 

Lee’s responding grin is downright _wolfish_ as she drops to her knees. 

“I _like_ Papa Bear Shane.” 

\---

The reopening ceremony is a nice change of pace for the occupants of Stardew Valley, so most everybody shows up for it. 

Shane can tell that Lee still feels down about the whole thing, that entering the Community Center and not seeing or hearing the Junimos disappointed her, a little. But the longer they stayed- standing there amongst the townspeople as they _ooh_ and _ahh_ over the new furniture and fully stocked shelves, hearing each of them start to claim the rooms they like the best and muse over possible uses for the community- Shane could feel Lee's mood picking back up.

_It's so empty without them. What was the point of fixing it at all?_

Watching the rooms bustle with life once more, Shane thinks he can see the point.

Really and truly, _everyone_ shows up. 

Including _Morris_ , Shane’s manager at JojaMart. 

When the man starts picking fights with Pierre, as usual, Shane feels Lee tense up beside him.

She’s about 3 seconds away from stepping in when Pierre sheds his jacket and steps into the ring.

Literally.

The man lets fly an uppercut that actually sends Morris head over heels and onto the floor. Caroline frets and worries about lawsuits and consequences, but when Morris collects himself, all he does is scurry out the front door. 

\---

The next day, Shane shows up to work and finds JojaMart _closed_. 

_What. the fuck._

He gets a letter in the mail the day after that informing him that his branch of JojaMart has been terminated (obviously), and he will be receiving the next season’s pay as compensation for his unemployment on such short notice. 

_Huh._

Since JojaMart closed and his competition is virtually zero, Pierre extended the General Store’s operating hours to seven days a week, along with new stock that he hadn’t been able to afford before.

Which meant… Pierre was hiring. 

And guess who has had years of experience stocking shelves.

“It’s not that bad, really,” Shane assures Lee after a couple weeks on the job at Pierre’s. “I hate it much less than JojaMart. Plus, Pierre’s talking to me about taking on some of the responsibility myself, maybe co-managing, so he has some more time to spend with his family.”

“That’s great!” Lee cries, jumping into the air in celebration. 

“Yeah,” Shane agrees with a little head bob. “I think I might actually like it there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My spellcheckers: i don't understand this "bip" you speak of.  
> Me: it's a very important word.
> 
> I WAS VERY SAD WHEN THE JUNIMOS SAID GOODBYE!!!!!! I LOVE THOSE BOUNCY LITTLE GUYS!!
> 
> Shane is such a grumpy old man. He's like, 25 and acts like George. "Get off my lawn!!!" Also fuck Mayor Lewis. What the fuck. 
> 
> Also, I had Shane move in before I destroyed JojaMart, so i didnt realize that he literally just gets dumped in the trash as a result and is unemployed and he hates his life even more. Like. Damn. Why do the writers hate Shane so much.


	11. Year 3, Summer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty, prepare yourselves!! Suspense ahead!!
> 
> If you're iffy about animal sickness/potential animal death, around the first meow, ctrl/cmmd + f and search "Never, never ever" that should get you past it :)
> 
> Don't worry!! All happy endings here!! I am a sap!

By the time summer rolls around, Shane has settled into his new job at Pierre’s pretty nicely.

He’s absolutely amazed at the difference between his two shelf-stocking experiences. Despite doing almost the exact same set of tasks that he performed at JojaMart, almost _everything_ about working at Pierre’s was 100 times better.

For one, it’s closer to home. When he gets off shift, it’s a 20 to 30 minute walk instead of an hour or so, which gets him showered and changed out of his work clothes at a reasonable enough hour to go hang out with Lee before the sun goes down.

(Not that he won’t hang out with her when it’s dark outside, but… well, you get the point.)

On another note, working for Pierre is just… _leagues_ different than working for Morris. Pierre actually sat down and had a whole conversation with him about the hours he would work and the benefits he would receive as a full-time employee. JojaMart merely handed him a time sheet and said, “show up at this time.” Plus, there’s no uniform at Pierre’s shop. Just a dress code. 

And, since he’s really the only other employee here, sometimes Pierre has him cover the cash register, or call suppliers, or deal with customers (Shane’s least favorite), or check inventory, or... you get the point. He’s learning the ins and outs of Pierre’s shop little by little, piece by piece- which he suspects is a calculated move on Pierre’s part, considering that co-managing offer he made when Shane first started working for him.

Finally, _Lee_ shops here. 

Shane _never_ saw her at JojaMart- and for good reason, he’s learned, now that he talks with Pierre regularly and has the whole story about the war between the two stores. But now he sees her drop by for seeds at the beginning of the new season, sees her pick up cooking supplies whenever she runs low on something- he’s even seen her pick out new wallpaper for her living room. 

It’s quite lovely, actually, to be busy refilling the shelves and feel a familiar set of arms wrap around his waist and a chin press into his shoulder. Especially since Pierre doesn’t mind if Shane stops to chat every once and a while, given Shane gets his daily tasks done in the end. (JojaMart would’ve fired him on the spot for ceasing to work while on shift.)

Today, it’s not arms around his waist that gives him pause while he sweeps the floors in the back, but a distinctly familiar sound.

“ _Maow._ ”

That couldn’t be… 

Shane peered around the shelf blocking his view of the rest of the store just in time for another plaintive “ _mooow,_ ” to reach his ears. 

“I know, I know,” 

Lee’s voice confirms it. Meem is indeed inside Pierre’s shop, somewhere. 

Shane leaned his broom up against the wall, stepped out into the main area of the store, and came face to face with Lee herself. 

“Oh!” She yelped, caught off guard by his sudden appearance. “Hey, Shane!” 

“Hey,” he greeted her, leaning in to steal a kiss. “I could’ve sworn I heard…” 

“Meemer,” Lee confirmed. “She’s right here. And not very happy about it, might I add.” 

Lee turned to the side to brandish the cat-sized carrier slung over her shoulders, and through the mesh sides of the carrier at Lee’s hip, Shane could see Meem’s little tuxedo face and doleful green eyes peering up at him.

“ _Mow.”_

“ _Mow,_ ” Lee mimicked the cat’s pitiful whine, “just a minute, okay?” 

“Why’s she in there?” Shane wondered. 

The soft look in Lee’s eyes (one reserved only for Meem) washed away in favor of worry that pinched her eyebrows together on her forehead. 

“She’s been lethargic lately. Usually nothing stops her from chasing the mice that get into the animal’s foodstores, but I’ve been finding more and more mice in my coops and barns as the week goes on.” She explained. “Plus, she’s barely drinking the water I leave out for her every morning. I’m bringing her to Harvey’s to get her checked out.”

Shane’s eyebrows swung up in surprise. “I didn’t know Harvey was a vet.” 

“He’s not,” Lee smiled tiredly, clearly already having encountered this hurdle. “But he has a friend in another city who is. It’s too far for me to drive there and back without staying the night, and my farm can’t be left alone for that long.”

“Well… I could-” Shane began, but Lee just shook her head. 

“Thank you, really, Shane,” she insisted, pressing a kiss to his cheek before moving on, “But I think we’ve got it figured out for now. Harvey’s friend agreed to do a phone checkup, so Harvey and I are going to be her eyes and ears. Hopefully, together, we can figure this out.”

Shane could see how worried she was- if the scrunch of her eyebrows wasn’t enough, the white knuckled grip she had on Meem’s carrying case hammered it in.

“Good luck today,” he offered, and his girlfriend gave him a tired smile in return. “And good luck to you too, Meem,” he directed towards the green eyes still glaring up at him.

“ _Maow._ ”

\---

When Shane got off work that day, the lights to Harvey’s Clinic were still on. 

Which was… odd, considering Harvey’s hours rarely went past 4pm, and Shane got off at 5:30.

He figured he knew why. 

After a couple knocks on the door, each attempt growing progressively louder and louder, in case they were in one of the back rooms, someone finally answered the door.

“Shane!” Lee cried, surprised by his presence for the second time that day. “Oh- uh, are you- do you need Harvey for something?”

“No,” Shane shook his head, “I just figured you were still here.”

Lee’s initial surprise had lit up her face enough that Shane didn’t realize anything was wrong until the façade crumpled and she pressed herself to his chest.

“Oh god- _Shane_ \- it’s _my_ fault- it’s _my fault_ -” she warbled, voice muffled as she rambled into his sweatshirt, “Poor Meemer,”

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Shane demanded, gently leading her back into the air conditioning of Harvey’s Clinic. He immediately feared the worst, and, soon after that, wondered if he was emotionally capable of consoling someone close to him through a death in the family.

Lee sniffled, clearly holding back tears, and gently detached herself from her boyfriend’s body. 

“I planted some calla lilies in my yard with the new harvest. I thought they would look nice.” She mumbled, eyes cast down onto the floor. “Lilies are… they’re toxic to cats.” 

“Oh, Lee,” Shane whispered, pulling her back into his arms. “I’m so sorry.”

“You didn't know,” Harvey’s voice signaled his appearance as he pushed the doors to one of the back rooms open. “It could’ve been much worse, apparently. Other kinds of lilies would’ve killed her in three or four days.”

Shane glared over Lee’s head at the doctor’s remark, and Harvey’s eyes widened as he realized what he’d said. 

“I- I mean- aside from this never happening, this is one of the better outcomes of cats consuming lilies.” He tried again- though Shane didn’t think this attempt was much better. 

“Meem’s mouth and throat are inflamed, which would make eating and drinking difficult, if not painful,” Harvey explained to Shane, “So that’s probably why she hasn’t been hunting much. I’ve got her on anti-inflammatories and something for the pain, but, unfortunately, that period of time with limited food and water intake has weakened her considerably.”

“Meaning…” Shane trailed off, waiting for the verdict.

“If she makes it through the night, she should pull through.” Harvey explained. 

“If she makes it through the night.” Lee echoed, burying her face in Shane’s sweatshirt again.

Shane wrapped an arm around her and ran a comforting hand down her back. “Are you staying the night?”

A nod against his chest confirmed his suspicions.

“If it’s alright with Harvey, I’ll stay too.” 

\---

Thankfully, Meem _did_ make it through the night, and she let them know as soon as she woke up the next morning. 

“MAOW. MAOW _MAOW_ -” she crowed, meowing just as insistently as ever, despite how scratchy her voice sounded. 

Lee jolted awake from where she’d dosed off in her chair- and startled Shane awake by proxy, as she had been leaning on his shoulder until then.

“Hey, Meem,” Lee croaked, petting the side of the tuxedo cat’s face with her knuckles. “Hungry, huh?”

“Probably,” Harvey’s voice caught their attention, and the two newly-awakened occupants of the room looked up to see him checking over the contents of a clipboard. “I just ran bloodwork to confirm, but it looks like we’ve avoided any kind of kidney or liver failure.”

Lee looked up at the doctor with more than a little worry in her eyes, and- though it took him a while to notice her concern- Harvey made sure to add, “She’s going to be fine.” 

“ _MAAOOOW,_ ”

“Alright, alright,” Harvey huffed, turning around to the counter behind him to grab two bowls. “Let’s see how she handles wet food, for now.” 

Shane chuckled under his breath at Harvey’s immediate response to Meem’s yowling- likely a habit he picked up on from Lee in their short time here.

After Meem started digging into the food offered to her, Lee sunk into her chair, relieved. 

The farmer turned to Shane with a small smile and whispered the words Shane already knew she meant. 

“Thank you for staying with us through the night.” 

Shane smiled back. “No problem.”

\---

Never, never ever, had Shane expected to ever be in that kind of situation ever again. Not with Meem, not with Lee, not with _anyone_ he knew. 

But a few weeks later, the unexpected struck right out of the blue.

\---

It started with the phone ringing off the hook. 

Neither Shane nor Pierre were in a position to grab it, as they were both unloading a truck full of shipments meant for the fall season. With both of their hands full, the phone rang and rang and rang until it fell silent.

And then rang and rang and rang until it fell silent.

The third time the phone rang, Pierre dropped the crate of cranberry seeds with a _thud_ and stormed over to the receiver. 

“Pierre’s General Store, you’ve reached Pierre, what can I do for you?” He answered through clenched teeth after snatching the phone off of the dock. 

Shane had been watching Pierre answer the phone to see how he’d handle it (maybe file away some tips for things to say if he ever gets so frustrated with a customer), but instead of continuing to speak, all of the color drained from Pierre’s face.

“Shane,” Pierre called for him, “It’s for you.” 

\---

Obviously, as soon as he heard what was going on, Pierre let Shane off early. 

But honestly, after gathering his things from the store and heading out, Shane didn’t really know where to _go_. 

A shout of his name made him stumble over his own feet, and he nearly dropped his bag on the ground. 

“Shane! Shane- have you heard?” Abigail cried, skidding to a stop in front of him. “Lee! She’s-”

“Missing,” Shane finished her sentence for her. “I know.” 

“We have to do something!!” Abigail insisted. “We can’t just stand around here!”

“What on _earth_ are we going to do?” Shane demanded, bordering on outright yelling at the woman in his frustration. “She’s gone missing in the _Skull Cavern of Calico Desert_. This isn’t the mines here in Pelican Town with a couple slimes and the occasional bat, Abigail. We will _die_ if we barge in there.” 

“First of all,” Abigail snapped, clearly just as frustrated as he was, “The mines here in Pelican Town are _not_ a walk in the park. You could just as easily die down there. Second,” she insisted, “I _wasn’t_ suggesting we barge in there alone, without a plan.” 

“Oh, so you have a _plan?_ ” Shane crowed. “Why didn’t you open with that?” 

Abigail frowned and _tsked_ , a sharp click of a noise that Shane _immediately_ recognized as her father’s. Pierre often made the same sound in the store when something went wrong. 

“Stop being a dickhead and follow me.” She punctuated her sentence with a sharp turn on her heel, and Shane had no choice but to scramble after her when she headed towards the Community Center.

Actually, she took him up into the mountains, up past Robin and Demetrius’s house, past the lake, Linus’s tent, and the entrance to the mines. 

She slowed to a stop in front of a building Shane hadn’t even known existed, and didn’t even bother knocking before she barged right in.

“Miss Abigail,” a pleasant, low voice greeted them. “What brings you here this afternoon?” 

“Enough with the pleasantries, Marlon,” Abigail cut off the man behind the desk- an older looking man, silvery hair falling over a face creased with wrinkles and an eyepatch over one eye. Apparently, his name was Marlon.

“And _I’m_ the dickhead.” Shane muttered, raising an eyebrow in Abigail’s direction. Abigail opened her mouth to argue, but Marlon began speaking before she could pop off.

“I see you brought a friend,” Marlon noted. “What’s your name, young man?”

It had been a long time since anyone had referred to him as “young man” without being condescending. Nevertheless, he answered, “Shane,” in response.

“Oh,” Marlon’s eyebrows lifted, “You must be the lovely Marnie’s nephew.” 

Shane blinked, not expecting that to be the connection that the old man made. Upon further investigation (aka, a second, closer look), Shane’s jaw dropped. 

“You’re the old man that flirts with Aunt Marn at every Flower Dance!” He cried. 

Abigail rolled her eyes. “Shane. _Lee._ ” 

_Right._

“Lee hasn’t returned from Calico Desert.” Shane explained, switching gears. “A woman named Sandy called here when Lee didn’t show up at the usual time, said Lee was in the Skull Cavern and hasn’t come out.” 

“We’re going to Skull Cavern to find her. And you’re coming with.” Abigail announced. “Get your stuff packed. And get Shane a weapon.” 

Marlon just kind of stood there in shock, probably more at Abigail’s demands than the actual content of them. The three were silent, in sort of an unwilling staredown, right up until the other old man in a rocking chair burst out laughing.

The horrible, wheezing quality of his laughter made Shane kind of fear for his life.

“Shoot, Marlon,” the old man wheezed, grinning ear to ear, “We always talk about getting back out there, back into the action. Now’s your _chance!_ ” 

Marlon’s eyebrow twitched, and he broke his staredown with Abigail to turn to rocking chair man and frown. “You and I both know that I am _much_ too old to be going back into any kind of combat situation.” He reprimanded his friend. 

Turning back to Abigail, Marlon let out a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry, miss, but I’m just too old nowadays. Plus, any skill I might have leftover is going to be severely hindered by this old wound.” He reminded them, tapping a finger over the black eyepatch across his face. 

“That’s why we’re going with you.” Abigail insisted. “I’ve been learning plenty from you and Lee and my own time in the mines, but I’m not good enough for the Skull Cavern. And neither of us can carry Lee back, if she is immobilized somewhere.”

“Is that what I’m coming for,” Shane deadpanned, “To be a pack mule?”

Abigail sent him an unimpressed glare over her shoulder. “What were you gonna do? Lead the way?” 

“You can’t go,” Marlon pleaded. “You’ll just get yourselves killed.” 

For a moment, the threat of death stopped Shane in his tracks.

Was he really about to do this? Was he really about to dive headfirst into a situation that even Lee had trouble handling?

But the thought of Lee reminded him that… somewhere in there, Lee could be on her own, unable to get back to the surface. 

Knowing that she might be alive in there, that she might be holding out hope for some kind of help, was enough to spur Shane forwards into a decision. 

“We’re going, with or without you.” Shane announced. “But the chances of us actually succeeding are going to be _way_ higher if you come too.”

\---

Everything had been going _just fine_.

After getting her hands on the Galaxy Sword, the ease of which she sliced through her monstrous opponents increased _stupendously_. 

Perhaps the newfound power led to a little overconfidence. Perhaps today just wasn’t her lucky day.

She’d been facing off against a slime nearly as tall as her- and probably as wide as she was tall as well- and her new sword was doing a terrific job of fending it off while she searched for the stairs to the next level down.

Right up until a purple haze filled the air around her, wafting in through some draft in the cavern network.

Lee had only encountered this phenomenon once before, and it hadn’t gone well. 

Her least favorite monster to come across in these caverns were the serpents, and this particular fog seemed to summon them endlessly until it dissipated. 

As much as she hated giving up on a level- especially after the progress she’d made that day- the far off screeches of the serpentine creatures sounded numerous. Too numerous for her liking. 

She’d hauled ass in the direction she’d came from, but that massive slime _followed her!_

Grumbling under her breath, Lee turned and swung at it once more- and _finally_ , it dissipated. It made sure to spew slime all over her, and she found herself trudging towards the exit, each footfall heavier than the last. 

The first screech sent a chill down her spine. 

The serpent bared its talons and swooped down, but Lee managed to raise her sword in time to deflect the blow. 

The second, third, and fourth screeches send a wild burst of adrenaline through her system, enough for her to stab the first serpent through the chest and stumble out of the way when it fell to the ground. 

Her vision blurred as a striking pain seared across her back.

When a hissing serpent dug its talons into her sword arm, she only had one thought on the matter.

_Fuck._

\---

When she hears voices, Lee realizes she’s been asleep.

As she rouses more into consciousness, it occurs to her that she doesn't remember getting into bed. 

Also… _ow._

“Ow,” Lee manages to groan, expressing her pain as eloquently as possible. 

Aside from the ringing in her ears, she thinks she hears commotion. 

The closer she comes to fully conscious, the more everything hurts.

Lee lets the darkness wash over her again.

\---

“Lee,”

“ _Mmmmmm-_ ”

“ _Lee,_ hey, that’s good,”

“Ow.” 

Harvey rolled his eyes. “I have you on so much morphine right now, I’m surprised you’re awake. You shouldn’t be feeling much pain at all.” 

“Mmm-’eelin summin’.” 

Harvey laughed. “Well, you got pretty beat up in there. I’m not surprised.” 

“Shane.” Lee managed, not even bothering to open her eyes. 

“He’s asleep in the waiting room.” Harvey informed her. “You were in surgery for 6 hours.” 

Lee cracked open an eye, peering over at the doctor. “Surgery?” 

“Yes, you-”

“You’re… qualified to… surgery?” The farmer mumbled, eyeing the IV in her arm. 

“Wha- _of course_ I’m- _Lee_ ,” Harvey huffed, “You’d be dead if I wasn’t.” 

Lee smiled, and the doctor assumed the huff of air she let out was a laugh. 

“Thanks.” She mumbled, leaning back against the pillow beneath her head. 

Harvey smiled. “I’m glad I could help.” He admitted. “Do you want me to call Shane in?” 

Lee nodded, her hair rustling against the sheets. 

\---

When Shane finally stumbled in, tumbling to his knees next to the hospital bed his girlfriend laid in, Lee knew that- whatever had happened- it had been bad.

If the “6 hour surgery” wasn’t enough, Shane’s haggard appearance confirmed it. Lee had brushed death.

“Hey, I was thinking.” Lee began as he settled by her side, her voice scratchy and much too quiet. Then, as he drew close enough for her to really take him in, she changed her mind. “You look terrible.”

“ _I_ look terrible,” Shane blurted, eyes blowing wide in disbelief. “Lee, you nearly _bled to death._ ”

Lee nodded, eyebrows raised. “I figured something like that had happened.” 

Her words gave him pause, and Shane squinted at her. “You don’t remember what happened?”

Lee shrugged- wincing as a couple dull echoes of pain broke through the morphine haze. “I remember getting swarmed by two or three serpents while I was covered in slime goo. Everything gets kinda hazy after that.” 

Shane let his head fall into his hands, and he let out a long sigh. 

“We found you about 20 or so levels down,” Shane began. “God, Lee… There was so much blood, I… I thought you were _dead._ ” He breathed, slipping his hand into hers where it laid limply on the bed. “I carried you out of there on pure adrenaline, but once we got you back to Harvey’s… I really… I really thought I’d lost you.”

“Oh, Shane,” Lee murmured, pulling free of his hand so she could lift it to stroke through his hair. “Wait- wait, you- _you came and got me?_ ” The realization hit her all at once, clearing a little bit of the morphine haze with it. “You went _into the Skull Cavern?_ ” 

“Well, what else was I supposed to do?!” Shane demanded, his voice near screeching, closer to the edge of hysteria than Lee had heard it in a while. (And for good reason, she supposed.) “You were _missing._ Sandy said you hadn’t come back out of the caverns, and no one here is strong enough to go,”

“Shane, you could’ve _died_ ,” Lee wheezed, her fingers slipping down to his shoulder to curl into his shirt. 

“And leave you there?” Shane hissed, finally lifting his head to glare at her- and, to her surprise, there were… _tears_ in his eyes. “Leave you out there to _die?_ Lose the most important person in my life- after all I’ve accomplished with you? After I never thought I’d have something like this ever again?” He tried to blink away the tears, but they just kept falling. “I risked _everything_ for you in the hopes of bringing you back, Lee. And I’d do it again.”

Lee reached up, brushing tears off of his cheeks with shaky fingers. 

“Hey, Shane,” she whispered, cupping his face in her hand. “Marry me.” 

Understandably, Shane didn't quite register the words she was saying at first. 

“Don’t ever scare me like that again,” he mumbled into her palm, his stubble scratching against her calluses. “Seriously, I-” he paused, everything finally processing. “I- what?” 

Lee smiled, something gentle and soft that put all of his nerves at ease. Well, most of them.

“Marry me.” She repeated. “I’d already been thinking about it, but after all of this…” 

“After a near brush with death, you figured it’d be best not to put it off any longer, huh,” Shane muttered, somewhere between disgruntled at being put on the spot and teasing his girlfriend.

“No, no!” Lee laughed- though it dissolved into pained coughing after a moment, which had Shane stiffening and fluttering about anxiously at her side. “No,” she assured him, waving off his concern. “I was thinking more along the lines of, _I’d like to spend the rest of my life with this man,_ and then you went and risked your life to save mine, so it just kinda solidified everything for me.” She admitted. 

“I mean,” she continued, giggling a little at how his jaw was starting to hang open in surprise, “Where else am I going to find someone that loves me so much? It’d be a shame to start all over with someone else after you risked your life for me.” She pinched his cheek before adding, “Especially when I’d easily do the same for you.” 

Shane just stared at her, flabbergasted. 

“So, uh,” Lee whispered, her cheeks heating up, “Whaddya say?” 

Shane visibly collected himself, sitting up straight, and he squinted at his hospital-bed-bound girlfriend. “Are you high on morphine?” 

“ _SHANE,_ ” Lee groaned, flopping back onto her pillow. “Seriously!!” 

“Alright, alright,” Shane laughed, finally relaxed enough to smile. “Are you kidding, Lee? _Yes_ , yes, a thousand times, _yes_.” He breathed, lacing their fingers back together again.

"Cool," Lee whispered, grinning to herself. "I'm gonna take a nap." 

"Sounds like a plan." Shane whispered back, squeezing her hand one last time before she dozed off into a well-deserved rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!
> 
> Anyways, friendly reminder that ingesting literally every kind of lily is DEADLY POISONOUS to cats!! I'm talking miniscule amounts! Also, if you use essential oils, melaleuca/tea tree oil is toxic to cats too. Take care of your pets!!! (I use melaleuca in a mix of stuff for acne/moisturizing and my cats be like "i was gonna sit in your lap but now I guess I'm not" and I'm like pleeease,,, im sorry i have to take care of myself,,,)
> 
> Probably the most out of character thing I've ever written for Shane.... WILLINGLY going into the SKULL CAVERN and NOT DYING LMAO yea right. IT WAS FOR LOVE, OKAY??!!


End file.
